As Parliament Resumes, We Can’t Forget the High Price Tag of Prohibition…
By: Erika Dupuis & Kira London-Nadeau Today, Wednesday, September 23rd, 2020, a new session of Parliament will commence. Now, more than ever, we urge the Federal Liberal party to prioritize the decriminalization of substances as we bear witness to the ongoing and...
Not all Calls for Decriminalization are Equal
We, Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, stand firmly in our support of efforts to immediately decriminalize the possession of illicit drugs across the country. On July 9th, 2020, following years of organizing by grassroots drug policy and harm reduction...
CSSDP Statement on International Drug Checking Day
From Betsos, Alex (2019), “What’s in Drugs Baby Don’t Hurt Me: Professionalization of Changing Drug Knowledge in British Columbia” March 31, 2020 For Immediate Release International Drug Checking Day 2020 – A Call to Action in Expanding...
CND Day 3: Things That Aren’t Cannabis
These blog posts are made in collaboration between CSSDP, SSDP and Youth RISE as part of our joint effort to provide youth with information about the Commission of Narcotic Drugs. We are the Paradigma Coalition. Author: Alex Betsos It’s day 3 of the 63rd session of...
Paradigma Day 2: The Early Rising Youth Activists
These blog posts are made in collaboration between CSSDP, SSDP and Youth RISE as part of our joint effort to provide youth with information about the Commission of Narcotic Drugs. We are the Paradigma Coalition. Author: Ailish Brennan The Second Day of the 63rd...
Paradigma Day 1
These blog posts are made in collaboration between CSSDP, SSDP and Youth RISE as part of our joint effort to provide youth with information about the Commission of Narcotic Drugs. We are the Paradigma Coalition. Authors: Alex Betsos (CSSDP) and Róisín Downes (SSDP)...
Let’s Talk about Bell’s Prison Phone Cap
Let's Talk about Bell's Prison Phone Minute Cap Bell Canada’s contract with the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services is up for renewal in 2020. Bell Canada has held an exclusive contract with the Government of Canada and the Government of...
Annual Report
...Safe Injection Sites and Peer Support Initiatives
By: Melanie Davis Safe Injection Sites face a lot of uncertainty as power changes hands, and public perception on the opioid crisis changes. One factor that remains is that these sites save lives. There is a substantial body of literature that focuses on...
CSSDP AGM 2019 – Nov 14th 2019
The Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy’s Annual General Meeting is happening in just a couple of weeks! We’ve done a lot since the last AGM – from creating our Cannabis Education Toolkit to our most recent project, the election drug policy...
CSSDP Open Positions – National Board of Directors Call for Applications
Are you a student or young person who is passionate about drug policy reform? Want to gain leadership experience in policy advocacy and social change? Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy (CSSDP) has openings for multiple positions on our national Board of...
Drug Policy Report Card
As Canadians get ready to head to the polls on October 21st, we realize how far drug policy has come, yet also how much there is left to do. We look with pride at the fact that federal parties are directly addressing harm reduction in their platforms – something we...
The Sensible Cannabis Education Toolkit
The CSSDP cannabis education project will help educators and parents have more effective dialogue with young people.
Upcoming Cannabis Education Roundtables
CSSDP is looking for chapters and volunteers to host a 2 hour Youth Roundtable to workshop our Cannabis Education Toolkit in December and early January. Roundtable Facilitation Training CSSDP is working with the Youth Wellness Network to develop: a facilitation...CCSA Hosts 7th Harm Reduction Conference
One of the largest harm reduction conferences is being held, recently. It was in Calgary, Alberta. This is the seventh conference devoted to issues and concerns around substance use and addiction. It is being hosted by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA).
Homeless, in Winnipeg, and Indigenous Populations, in Canada, at Higher Risk of Substance Associated Deaths
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons. By Scott Douglas Jacobsen Harm reduction is an important part of the prevention of deaths associated with drug use, overuse or abuse. In Winnipeg, the vulnerable are the main victims of the opioid crisis. Throughout the country, the...
Fentanyl Positive Sample Tests Increase 2,000%
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons. By Scott Douglas Jacobsen There has been a surprising increase in the number of positive tests for fentanyl in samples of heroin, which have been seized by the law enforcement agencies throughout the country. It was less than 1% in...
Abuse of Opioids Does Not Discriminate
Image Credit: Flickr. By Scott Douglas Jacobsen Jesse Stein from The Link wrote about the hard lessons from overdoses (Stein, 2017). Amélie Goyette, who has worked at CACTUS for 13 years (a harm reduction service), described the learned lesson. The lesson that...
New Device to be Piloted in British Columbia
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons. By Scott Douglas Jacobsen In the midst of the opioid crisis in British Columbia, and arguably across Canada, Vancouver is testing a first-of-its-kind drug examination device. The drug testing device may help in the reduction of opioid...
Red Zones Block Harm Reduction Service Access
Image Credit: Pexels. By Scott Douglas Jacobsen Henry Tran, a Contributor to Simon Fraser University’s The Peak, reported that a new study found the bail conditions on alleged offenders including substance users can prevent overall access in Downtown Eastside...
The Public Have Concerns About Discarded Needles
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons. By Scott Douglas Jacobsen Harm reduction continues to grow throughout Canada. With this, there is the provision of Naloxone kits, harm reduction trailers and sites, as well as clean needles for injection drug users. But there have been...
Harm Reduction Trailer Approved for Murray Street
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons. By Scott Douglas Jacobsen Health Canada approved the supervised injection site in Ottawa, recently. CBC News reported that the trailer was approved for the Shepherd’s of Hope in Byward Market (Trinh, 2017). This nearly another...