The Issues

In preparation for the public consultations, the Ottawa Integrated Drugs and Addictions Strategy Community Network has met several times over the past few months to identify the issues regarding prevention, treatment, harm reduction and enforcement and to set goals and objectives with respect to 10 priority issues.

The community network is now seeking input from you to further prioritize those issues in an effort to target resources to address the issues most important to the public in the first phase of Ottawa’s Integrated Drugs and Addictions Strategy.

Provided below is a list of the 10 priority issues and a brief overview of each: 

There is a large gap between what we know (and say) and what we do in the name of prevention. We know that prevention efforts need to be long-term and enduring, yet too many prevention programs suffer from short-term funding arrangements. There is a great need for prevention infrastructure, yet too much prevention activity continues to be characterized by time-limited project-based activity.

Programs that consist of several elements tend to be more effective than single-element efforts (i.e., policy development, enforcement activities, media campaigns and community mobilization components).

1 in 6 Ontario high school students report symptoms of drug use problems. ¹ This would translate to approximately 8,880 high school students reporting symptoms of drug use problems in Ottawa. 

There is no residential treatment facility in Ottawa for youth under the age of 16. This results in the youth needing residential treatment having to seek support outside of the City.

There is a strong consensus that particular populations, such as women (including pregnant women), youth, seniors and special interest groups, need better access to treatment. This may be best accomplished by increasing outreach efforts to engage these individuals and improving awareness of their options. Particularly marginalized people have been shown to benefit from active case management, which helps address multiple needs.

A large number of users and abusers, of illicit drugs are involved in criminal activity ranging from shoplifting to homicide.²  Proportions of Crimes Associated with Alcohol and Other Drugs in Canada, advises that drug trafficking, shoplifting, breaking and entering, violent robberies, as well as prostitution for some drug-addicted women constitute gainful crimes that enable some people to obtain their drugs.

Approximately 30 per cent of individuals seeking substance abuse treatment also suffer from one or more mental issues.

Substance abuse and mental health services in the community have typically worked in isolation and often from competing perspectives.

Substance-involved individuals with social and mental health problems are more likely to benefit from treatment that addresses these other problems. A variety of flexible and individualized services are required and guidelines for the selection of appropriate services, based on clinical insight, are needed. ³

Unless housing is appropriate and stable, treatment is less likely to be successful.  Some studies over the years have found aftercare to improve outcomes. Within the research, there is consensus that clients are better served when they can access a range of flexible and individualized services spanning the specialized and non-specialized sectors linked through some form of co-ordination and case management, and accounting for the needs of particular populations.

Within the research, there is a strong consensus that particular populations, such as women (including pregnant women), youth, seniors, and special interest groups need better access to detox (withdrawal management).

Among Intravenous Drug Users, the risk of HIV infection was nine times greater in Ottawa as compared to Toronto from 1992-2000.

Approximately 58% of Intravenous Drug Users in Ottawa were infected with Hepatitis C (HCV). The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety acknowledges that police work is among the most dangerous and requires special training. The hazards of police work include exposure to contagious and infectious diseases from people, animals, needles and other sources.⁴

Building neighbourhoods and communities that work against Ottawa’s drug problem will require neighbours working together to develop solutions that work for them, given their community’s assets. A “place-based” approach to providing services and making investments means that residents and institutions are engaged collaboratively, with an eye to ensure a particular neighbourhood works for the people who live and work there. Planning at the neighbourhood level is an acknowledgement that “one size does not fit all”.

Research has found that relatively brief (five to seven sessions) family programs (not just parents only) designed for high-risk populations and which address communication, coping and disciplinary skills can be effective in delaying the onset of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use among adolescents during the early to mid-teen years. ⁵

References

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