BREAKOUT C: Harm Reduction or Treatment? Navigating the Politics and Science of Substance Use in the Fentanyl Era

Since the start of 2024, three important reports have been published that can be used to help guide how OMSSA Members think about the relationship of their work to substance use in Ontario during a drug toxicity crisis. These reports by the Medical Officer of Health for Ontario, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, and the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police all recognize the need to set politics aside in favour of developing evidence-based approaches for addressing a issue detrimentally impacting communities. In their own ways, these reports each recognize how harm reduction (ie. education, safe-consumption, safer supply, overdose prevention, among others) and treatment (ie. providing pathways to care, medication-assisted treatment, among others) are not disparate approaches at opposing poles, but instead compatible efforts that should be combined to meet the needs of specific communities. Drawing on these reports, this panel will help to separate the politics from the evidence with the intention of supporting the work of social services providers.

In this session, we will hear from drug policy experts from a variety of perspectives, including lived experience,  epidemiology, municipal policy, and police services. These speakers will help guide participants through the issues, while also providing insight into how an evidence-based approach to substance use in the fentanyl era can help them better understand the role of social services for people who use drugs.

Areas of Focus: Substance Use; Opioids; Harm Reduction; Treatment; People Who Use Drugs