Drug-impaired Driving in Canada
Although the misuse of drugs has long been considered a major social problem, the acute and devastating consequences of driving while impaired by drugs has only recently come to the forefront as a public health and safety issue. Providing an overview of the drugs-and-driving problem in Canada, this pre-conference session will be of interest to those who are involved in or affected directly or indirectly by drugs and/or alcohol, including law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, probation and corrections officers, researchers, academics, policymakers, addiction specialists (e.g., treatment providers, clinical staff) and private sector professionals.
This session will demonstrate how drug use by drivers is a problem of similar magnitude to alcohol use by drivers—but it is very much a different problem or, more specifically, a series of different problems. These differences have important implications for prevention, enforcement and treatment in Canada. An international perspective on the issue will also be given as we discuss international research, policy and responses.
The Drug Evaluation and Classification (DEC) program for detecting drug-impaired drivers will be presented, along with the research supporting the scientific basis of the program. Participants will also have the opportunity to view a demonstration of a DEC evaluation conducted by a trained police officer (known as a Drug Recognition Expert).
Although DEC is the approach adopted in Canada and the United States, other countries around the world have different approaches to policy, legislation and enforcement. The final presentation will provide an overview of the recent International Symposium on Drugs and Driving held in Montreal in July. The session will conclude with a general discussion where participants will be invited to offer their suggestions of future steps that could be taken to reduce the harms associated with driving after drug use.
Digital Narratives: Women and Treatment
This national networking session on women’s treatment will provide participants with a hands-on opportunity to make digital narratives—a creative way to share evidence and experience-based stories about their work in lasting and meaningful ways.
Co-sponsored by the British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health and the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse in partnership with the University of Saskatchewan, this interactive session will be led in part by Nette Wild, renowned director of the documentary Fix: The Story of an Addicted City. This session aims to inspire participants to continue bringing new and culturally relevant methods and knowledge to their practices and programs, with specific focus paid to treatment and support designed and offered by and for First Nations, Inuit and Métis women with substance use concerns in Canada. Participants will leave this session with the skills and tools needed to make their own digital narratives of their work.