International Drug Policy: A Comparative Analysis

Drug Policy and Harm Reduction are an evolving landscape. The drug overdose/poisoning crisis and Covid pandemic underscore the urgency of these topics.

Decriminalization, legalization, alternatives to incarceration programs, prescribed safe supply, consumption in public places, and overdose prevention services such as supervised injection sites and naloxone distribution, are examples that will be discussed and debated in this workshop. Carl Erik Fisher, an addiction physician and bioethicist and assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University in the Division of Law, Ethics, and Psychiatry and is an expert in the Portugal model of Drug Policy where he lived for several months and will describe this model. The focus of the workshop will be on what can be learned from various international models on a comparative basis.

Panelists are all members of the International Society of Addiction Medicine (ISAM) from Canada, Portugal, Egypt, and the US. Greg Bunt MD, past president of ISAM will compare various international models including the Oregon experience. Rania Mamdouh MD, North and West Africa ISAM Regional Representative, will discuss Alternatives to Incarceration in Egypt. Pouya Azar and Nick Mathew from Vancouver will discuss new harm reduction drug policy in British Columbia. Panelists and the audience will then engage in vigorous discussion and discourse.