InnerChange Foundation

Provincial report asks government to recognize addiction as a disease

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 11:13:08 -0800

By: Jackie Wong, West Ender Approximately one in 10 people in B.C. suffers from some form of addiction or dependence, and 30 per cent of people diagnosed with mental illness will also have a substance-abuse disorder in their lifetime, according to a report released by the B.C. Medical Association (BCMA). Given these statistics, the report calls on the provincial government to formally recognize addiction as a chronic, treatable disease. Such a designation could pave the way toward better treatment, says Dr. Shao-Hua Lu, a BCMA addictions psychiatrist and the lead author of the paper. Continue reading: http://www.westender.com/articles/entry/provincial-report-asks-government-to-recognize-addiction-as-a-disease

Vancouver's Inner Change Foundation Strongly Supports BCMA Call to Recognize Addiction as a Chronic Disease

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:10:17 -0800

"Investments in treatment can also hit gangs in the pocket book" The Inner Change Foundation, a Vancouver-based society supporting the development of innovative drug treatment solutions, today expressed their strong support for the British Columbia Medical Association (BCMA)'s call to recognize addiction as a chronic disease. At the same time, the Foundation also noted that investments in proven treatment can save money by hitting organized crime in the pocket book. "We agree with BCMA that governments need to focus new investments on treatment that will pay dividends for the individual addict - and society as a whole," said Inner Change Executive Director Trish Walsh. "The status quo is not meeting the basic needs of our most vulnerable citizens and feeding the growing profits of organized crime in the Lower Mainland." The Inner Change Foundation says the solution to the problem must include strategically breaking the connection between the personal addiction and the profit of organized crime.

Bill Good Show (Audio Archives)

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:06:12 -0800

The InnerChange Foundation was featured on the Bill Good Show (CKNW Radio), March 5th 10am. To listen search their Audio Archives: http://www.cknw.com/stationshared/audiovault.aspx

Can pill replace heroin for addicts?

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:04:56 -0800

Featured on: ctvbc.ca Researchers behind a controversial approach to Vancouver's drug problem are trying to launch a new study. Hundreds of people took part in the NAOMI project, which stands for North American Opiate Medication Initiative. The project provided drug addicts with heroin, methadone and a pain medication called Dilaudid. Rob Vincent took part in NAOMI. He says his health improved and he was able to work. "I didn't have to worry about waking up in the morning and worry about where I'm going to come up with the money to get better now," he said. Continue reading: http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090216/BC_Pill_Replace_Heroin_090216/20090216/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

We need compassionate P3s for the Downtown Eastside

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:02:16 -0800

By Trish Walsh and Michael Krausz, Special to the Sun When we consider public-private partnerships (P3s) in British Columbia, we usually think of rapid transit lines, bridges and economic infrastructure. We don't normally associate P3s with things like drug addiction and mental illness on the Downtown Eastside. But we should. Similarly, when we consider private involvement in health care, we usually think user fees or for-profit clinics. We don't normally associate private health care investment with helping the most vulnerable in society. But we should. Corporate social responsibility is not something new to Vancouver. In fact, you could argue our business community has led the way. There are many examples of compassionate public-private-partnerships happening in B.C. now -- particularly related to construction of social housing.

Shame if we fail to pursue a treatment system that gives real hope to addicts

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:03:37 -0800

By Trish Walsh, The Province What would you say if the government spent approximately 11 million of your tax dollars to prove a new treatment helped heroin addicts out of their death spiral -- and then let the report sit on the shelf? As outraged as we may be, think of how an addict in the program may feel. Hope is on the horizon and one day you show up for treatment and the doors are closed. This scenario is playing itself out in Vancouver right now. Three months ago, University of B.C. and St. Paul's Hospital researchers released the long-awaited results of the North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI).

Valerie Coles chosen as one of "2008's Most Inspirational Women"

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:23:44 -0800

InnerChange Foundation Director Valerie Coles was chosen of one of the "2008's Most Inspirational Women" by Atira Women's Resource Society.

Opiate trial results are encouraging

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:10:58 -0800

We have to overcome our squeamishness and start using what works for addiction Vancouver Sun Editorial Published: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 Although heroin maintenance might appear to be a daring new treatment for heroin addicts, it's neither daring nor new. Indeed, the United States, of all countries, ran narcotic maintenance programs until 1925, and the United Kingdom engaged in opiate maintenance for much of the 20th century. Given the success of Britain's programs, many other European countries, including Switzerland, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, have conducted scientific studies on the efficacy of opiate maintenance, and have found that it has had significant positive outcomes for both addicts and their communities.

Painkiller works for heroin addiction

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 14:05:59 -0800

Dilaudid as effective as heroin, and more effective than methadone, for addicts, study shows Chad Skelton, Vancouver Sun Published: Saturday, October 18, 2008 A commonly prescribed drug used in cough medicine is more effective than methadone -- and as effective as heroin itself -- at stabilizing the lives of heroin addicts and reducing their use of street drugs, according to a new study from Vancouver. Since March 2007, the North American Opiate Medication Initiative has been prescribing 115 addicts in both Vancouver and Montreal with medical-grade heroin to see if they would fare any better than a control group of 111 on methadone. The results, released Friday, concluded addicts on heroin stuck with treatment longer and had more success than the methadone group -- no surprise, since similar studies in Europe found the same thing.

Providing safe, daily doses helps addicts, study finds

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 14:04:09 -0800

JANE ARMSTRONG With a report from The Canadian Press October 18, 2008 VANCOUVER -- Most of the hardened heroin addicts who were given free, daily doses of the illegal drug over a 12-month period underwent a positive transformation, committing far fewer crimes while their physical and mental health steadily improved, according to researchers. Addicts also cut their illegal heroin use by 70 per cent, on average, according to researchers from the North American Opiate Medication Initiative. The results of the trial, said Martin Schechter, the project's main investigator, show that hard-core addicts - those with the dimmest chances of recovery - can stabilize their lives when heroin is made free and administered by teams of health-care professionals. "Heroin-assisted therapy is a safe and effective treatment for people with chronic heroin addiction who have not benefited from previous treatment," Dr. Schechter told a news conference in Vancouver.

Heroin experiment remains in bureaucratic limbo

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:40:56 -0800

InnerChange program supporter says federal health minister may be responsible for slow progress Mike Howell, Vancouver Courier Published: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Nineteen months after it was launched, the non-profit society created to drive Mayor Sam Sullivan's drug treatment plan has yet to receive approval from the federal government to begin trials. And the former executive director of the Inner Change Society wonders whether federal Health Minister Tony Clement's continuing criticisms of the city's supervised injection site is linked to the lack of action. "He has definite concerns about [the mayor's] project, and he's said so in many different ways," said Richard Mulcaster, who remains a board member of the society. "He doesn't seem to want to answer letters or meet or talk about this. So you kind of feel that it's obviously not within his vision or moral whatever it is."

Dr. Brian Day (President, Canadian Medical Association)

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:37:31 -0800

Dr. Brian Day (President, Canadian Medical Association) View letter

News report: Promising results from Australian substitution treatment trials

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:23:49 -0800

>> News report: Promising results from Australian substitution treatment trials

Video report: Substitution treatment trials in Australia

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:19:28 -0800

BCMA letters debate goals of InnerChange

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 22:08:57 -0800

BCMA letters debate goals of InnerChange

Letter submitted by doctors to the BC Medical Journal, Dec.13, 2007 (pdf)

InnerChange responds to BC Medical Journal, Jan. 7, 2008 (pdf)

Substitution Treatment Program Appoints New Executive Director

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 14:49:03 -0800

Inner Change, the society that is setting up a drug substitution program in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES), has appointed Richard Mulcaster Executive director. Mulcaster was President and CEO of the Vancouver Foundation for fourteen years. Don Rix, Chairman of the Inner Change Society board says Mulcaster is a superb fit. “Our board is thrilled with Richard’s appointment,” says Rix. “Richard is a person who can bring together community organizations, funders, government and other stakeholders and get them all working towards a common solution.” Mulcaster says his role at the Vancouver Foundation gave him the opportunity to work with many of the groups in the DTES as a funder. Now he will have the chance to be involved on a more direct, grass roots level. “I have developed many relationships in the DTES and built up some trust. Now I want to build on those relationships to help solve one of the most serious problems facing Vancouver.” Mulcaster is taking over from Lois Johnson, who has been Executive Director of the society since February 12 of this year. Johnson says she is very comfortable handing over the reigns to Mulcaster. “Richard is very familiar with the issues and the organizations working in the DTES. With our exceptional board and Richard providing the leadership, I believe Inner Change and the InnerChange project are in very capable hands.” Johnson has indicated she will continue to work with Inner Change in some capacity; however the Board and she have not yet determined a role. Mulcaster was with the Vancouver Foundation from 1979 to 2004, serving as President and CEO for 14 years. Prior to that, he was a Project Officer at the Employment Development Branch of the Federal Government and a Country Director with Canada World Youth. Mulcaster has been involved with many community organizations including the Telus Vancouver Community Board, The Arts Umbrella and Vancouver’s Coalition for Crime Prevention and Drug Treatment. He was awarded the Governor General’s Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth and the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada in recognition of significant contribution to community and to Canada.

Vancouver Votes for Innovative Harm Reduction Programs

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 11:21:47 -0800

In keeping with Vancouver's history of innovation in response to drug misuse, Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan and the Vancouver City Council voted last week to support two public health-oriented drug policy measures. One would extend the operation of the city's safer injection site, the first in North America, for three and a half years. The other would create a research trial to transition people struggling with addiction from using illegal street drugs to using legal prescription drugs. This would have international significance as a program that does substitution not only for heroin--which is currently being done in both Vancouver and Montreal--but for stimulant drugs. Insite, the safer injection facility, is similar to programs already in operation throughout Europe and in Australia, but met a great deal of opposition in Canada when it sought to open its doors more than three years ago. With support from Vancouver's past mayors, the facility opened and has since been incredibly successful.

Mayor & Councillors Support Insite and InnerChange

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 08:23:23 -0800

Mayor and Councillors Support Safe Injection Site and Chronic Addiction Substitution Treatment Research Trial Principles & Objectives

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan and City Councillors today voted for a City Council resolution to support two important drug policy measures, including:

Vancouver Coastal Health Authority’s federal application for a 3.5 year extension of Vancouver's safe injection site
the general principles and objectives of the Inner Change Society's Chronic Addiction Substitution Treatment (InnerChange) research trial

West End Citizen's Action Network

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 11:16:17 -0800

West End Citizen's Action Network (WECAN) View letter

Mayor's drug treatment committee plans to have proposal ready by June

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 08:53:38 -0800

Source: Vancouver Courier Byline: Mike Howell It will be several months before a non-profit created to get Mayor Sam Sullivan's drug treatment plan off the ground will apply to Health Canada for approval. Lois Johnson, executive director of Inner Change, said the non-profit's clinical advisory committee met for the first time Monday. The committee plans to submit the proposal by the end of June, Johnson said. But a possible federal election before the end of the year could complicate plans. Any approval of a program that requires an exemption under the country's drug laws must be signed off by Health Minister Tony Clement. Johnson acknowledged one concern is finding enough doctors trained in addictions to prescribe medication. "There are all sorts of external things that could affect the success or failure of the project," said Johnson, who was B.C. co-chair for Clement's leadership bid for the Conservatives in 2003. Counselling and housing has to be in place for the program to work, she added. Inner Change told the federal government in February it wanted to develop a program to give prescription medication to up to 800 drug-addicted criminals in the Downtown Eastside. Which prescription drugs the program would use hasn't been finalized, and such details will form part of the proposal the committee will prepare over the next few months. The non-profit has hired a research scientist to help draft the proposal. Both the scientist and Johnson are being paid with $50,000 donated by Dr. Donald Rix of MDS Metro Laboratory services. Rix and former Conservative MP John Reynolds are the chairs of Inner Change. The society is considering tying the treatment program into the community court expected to open in the fall at the provincial courthouse at 222 Main near Hastings Street. The court would allow a judge to impose a broad range of sentences-everything from jail to rehabilitation or a combination with an emphasis on repaying the community for harm done. "We're hoping to make it very easy for them to go right from the court into our program," she said. "We would be dealing with small numbers to begin with. We're not talking about dragging 800 people off the street." A community court would be separate from the drug court that has operated at the provincial courthouse since December 2001. Participants are longtime addicts, most of whom started using drugs in their teens. Many are infected with Hepatitis C and HIV and have criminal histories tied to smalltime drug dealing and petty theft. A person graduates when they are clean of cocaine, heroin or crystal methamphetamine for the last three months of what is usually a year to 18-month treatment program. But the drug court, which provides an alternative to serving time in jail, doesn't provide prescription medication to drug users, except for methadone. The mayor's plan recognizes that methadone is not successful with all addicts. That's why it's crucial to find doctors trained in addictions, Johnson said. "They have to be very capable in this area because it's not an easy thing. It's not just substituting one drug for another. There are many different reasons people get on drugs. There are underlying mental health issues that one drug may help and one drug may hurt. You can't treat them all the same." The Vancouver Police Department has stayed away from the public debate surrounding the mayor's treatment plan. Deputy chief Doug LePard told the Courier in February that the police are "not here to serve a political agenda." If the proposal is approved by Health Canada, LePard said the department would not stand in the way of a legal initiative. The VPD supported the opening and extension of the supervised injection site.

Cure for drug woes?

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 09:36:02 -0800

By IRWIN LOY, 24 HOURS Will a proposal to give legal drug substitutes to hardcore addicts solve Vancouver's drug problems? A majority of residents appear willing to give the idea a try. A new survey done for 24 hours suggests cautious support for Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan's plan to prescribe synthetic drugs to some 700 Downtown Eastside addicts. The survey, by official 24 hours pollster Strategic Communications, showed 57 per cent of respondents thought Sullivan's Chronic Addiction Substitution Treatment proposal could be a "good idea." More than one-third of respondents, 35 per cent, said they didn't support Sullivan's plan. For Ann Livingston, a coordinator with the outspoken drug-users advocacy group VANDU, the results are a criticism of current drug policy. "It's an indication that the average citizen is far more progressive than the politicians," Livingston said. "There's nothing we're doing right now that works, so I'm happy to see some support for this." Dave Jones, director of crime prevention with the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Area, said the poll results show a change in public attitude towards addiction. "People are getting past their moralistic approach to this issue," said Jones, a retired 30-year veteran of the Vancouver police. "I think organizations like the BIA have a very pragmatic approach here. They're looking for something that actually works, that reduces crime and improves people's lives. If this only siphons off a portion of the group of addicted people that are out there, it's still better than what's going on right now." Strathcona BIA executive director John Van Luven said he supports the idea, but wonders if society has the proper infrastructure in place to deal with what is, effectively, a major shift in addiction policy, from one of criminalization to one of health concern. "We've been dealing with it as a criminal issue for so many decades that I'm not sure we're ready just to deal with it strictly as a health issue," said Van Luven, whose Strathcona neighbourhood would be directly affected. "All of these things tend to end up with unintended consequences, and I don't think they've thought that through yet." Van Luven said he wants to see a full plan for the proposal. "It's been really sketchy on detail so far," he said. The directors behind InnerChange, which is currently being run as a non-profit, hope to have a program in place by this fall. First, they'll need a Health Canada exemption to operate either as a full program or as a clinical trial. The 24 hours/Stratcom poll surveyed 606 people in B.C. and is considered accurate to within + / - four per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Drug debate redux

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 09:37:18 -0800

A research trial would benefit both the individuals and the community by helping get addicts off illegal drugs

BY LOIS JOHNSON Source: Vancouver Sun Editorial The proposed research trial named InnerChange — for chronic addiction substitution treatment — has reignited a debate about how to deal with Vancouver’s drug problem. And a big problem it is. Studies indicate more than 33,000 British Columbians are dependent on illicit drugs. Property thefts, assaults, street prostitution, aggressive panhandling, dumpster diving, shoplifting and homelessness are, in many cases, directly related to people with chronic addictions desperately trying to find money to buy illegal drugs. More than 140,000 property crimes were reported in Greater Vancouver during 2005. Drug offences have increased by 63 percent. There are 800 chronic offenders who are arrested more than five times per year. Many of these admit to committing between five to 15 crimes per day to fund their drug addiction. In Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, the impact of addictive drug use is plain to see. The area has the highest HIV infection rate in North America, affecting almost 30 per cent of the local population, mainly women. Use of drugs like cocaine, crack cocaine and methamphetamine has long been recognized as a driver of the HIV epidemic. These drugs are also associated with heightened violence, crime and public disorder. On Feb. 26, Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan and an impressive group of doctors, concerned parents, ex- drug users, enforcement officers, residents, business people from the Downtown Eastside and politicians from across the political spectrum came together to launch Inner Change, the non- profit society that will drive the InnerChange research trial. InnerChange would work with addicted people to substitute their use of illegal street drugs with legally available, orally administered prescription medications. The InnerChange trial rejects the use of needles and illegal drugs. The short- term goal is to help addicted people stabilize their lives, identify any underlying mental health issues, remove the need for criminal activity to finance their drug habits and reduce their impact on the surrounding community. The eventual goal is to get them off drugs completely — abstinence. Some people believe we should simply crack down on the problem with more enforcement. The truth is we already spend 73 per cent of federal drug strategy money on enforcement, despite a lack of any scientific evidence to support this approach and little evaluation of the effects of this investment. Another 14 per cent is spent on treatment, almost exclusively abstinencebased. In spite of the impression created by all the media discussion, only three per cent of federal drug strategy money goes to harm- reduction programs. Some people argue the only way to help addicted people is to get them into abstinence- based programs. Again, the facts suggest otherwise. Approximately 75 per cent of addicted people do not respond in the long term to abstinence- based treatment. Only about 15 per cent manage to stay clean for the longterm after- treatment. The other 10 per cent manage to become abstinent all on their own. While many of us simply want the crime and the open drug market to go away, Phoenix Beck reminds us of what is really at stake. Phoenix is a young woman, now 25, who spoke at the Inner Change launch with disarming honesty and frankness. She told us she was 15 when she first tried smoking crystal meth — she had no idea what it was. She lived on the edge of the Downtown Eastside for the next five years, spiraling down into a bleak life. But Phoenix is a survivor. She decided to change and found a friend who gave her Adderall, a prescription stimulant. It is ironic that Phoenix had to get Adderall “ illegally” to get off street drugs. She took the Adderall for just one week while her body adjusted to coming off the street drugs. Phoenix has made it back. We as a society don’t seem to have a problem with substitution treatment for people with decent homes and stable lives who are trying to deal with an addiction: Smokers can use a patch for nicotine replacement. Yet we expect people addicted to street drugs, often homeless with no stable source of income, to be able to quit hard drugs without medication. Inner Change is young, and InnerChange is still in the planning stage. There are many details to work out. We need to put our heads down and work with the talented and knowledgeable group of professionals who have come together to drive this concept to reality. As Dr. John Blatherwick said at a recent workshop: “ There are many questions yet to be answered, but Mayor Sullivan has given us a huge opportunity here to create a program that could profoundly impact both addicted people and the communities they live in.” Getting people off illegal drugs is still the goal; InnerChange is another option, another tool to help addicted people get there. Lois Johnson is executive director of Inner Change.

The Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 14:48:21 -0800

The Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver View letter

The old ways of fighting addiction don't work

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 18:10:18 -0800

Byline: Frank M. Archer Source: Vancouver Sun Understandably, former Vancouver undercover police officer Senator Gerry St. Germain views Mayor Sam Sullivan's innovative substitute drug addiction treatment program through the eyes of someone who worked on morality and drug cases. I attempted to implement a program similar to Sullivan's proposal more than 25 years ago when pharmacies were being burglarized at an alarming rate. Pharmacists were violently attacked by addicts seeking drugs. Like Sullivan's proposal, most of the objections to my program were along the lines put forward by St. Germain. His contention that drug addiction is just like alcoholism, and you don't give an alcoholic more alcohol, reflected the feelings of many people at that time. But now to many people this is as ridiculous as saying that drug addiction is just like diabetes, and you don't give more insulin to a diabetic. St. Germain's same-old, same-old proposals for more police and abstinence-based treatment programs are self-admittedly based on hope. But are they founded on evidence-based reality? Frank M. Archer Delta Frank Archer is the former CEO of the BC Pharmacy Association

Interview with Hon. Joy MacPhail & Hon. John Reynolds

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 11:30:15 -0800

Bill Good Show, March 7 (CKNW): Interview with Hon. Joy MacPhail & Hon. John Reynolds. The following link opens the streaming audio archive for this 1-hour open line talk show. The interview begins 7 minutes into the stream, after the news. Open Windows Media Player