Abstract
People who use drugs (PWUD) face concurrent public health emergencies from overdoses, HIV, hepatitis C, and COVID-19, leading to an unprecedented syndemic. Responses to PWUD that go beyond treatment—such as decriminalization and providing a safe supply of pharmaceutical-grade drugs—could reduce impacts of this syndemic. Solutions already implemented for COVID-19, such as emergency safe-supply prescribing and providing housing to people experiencing homelessness, must be sustained once COVID-19 is contained. This pandemic is not only a public health crisis but also a chance to develop and maintain equitable and sustainable solutions to the harms associated with the criminalization of drug use.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 556-560 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs |
| Volume | 81 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Thomas D. Brothers is supported by the Dalhousie University Internal Medicine Research Foundation Fellowship and the Killam Postgraduate Scholarship, by the Ross Stewart Smith Memorial Fellowship in Medical Research, and by the Clinician Investigator Program Graduate Stipend from Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Alcohol Research Documentation Inc.. All rights reserved.
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Health(social science)
- Toxicology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
PubMed: MeSH publication types
- Journal Article
