BC's approval of overdose prevention sites two years ago was an unprecedented response to the overdose crisis. They were rolled out quickly and led by community members on the front lines of the public-health emergency. Findings from a CISUR study show the strategy's effectiveness.

A managed alcohol program (MAP) provides people who haven’t found success with abstinence-based approaches with pre-measured doses of beer or wine—often paired with housing and other supports—as a way of reducing the harms from alcohol. But do they work? A national study, co-led by Bernie Pauly and Tim Stockwell at UVic's Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, is finding out—and so far, signs point to yes.

Substance use costs Canadian society $38.4 billion a year, or almost $1,100 for every person in Canada, according to a new study. The Canadian Substance Use Costs and Harms study, produced by UVic's Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, examines the costs and harms associated with substance use, and spans four broad areas: health care, lost production, criminal justice and other direct costs.

David Leach is available to media for commentary on recent news about the World Health Organization declaring video game addiction a mental health disorder.

The practice of providing alcohol to people with severe alcohol dependence is a complex and sometimes controversial approach to harm-reduction. For the first time, a peer-reviewed journal has compiled the largest collection of peer-reviewed articles on these managed alcohol programs, led by UVic's Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research.

For the first time, a peer-reviewed journal has compiled the largest collection of peer-reviewed articles on managed alcohol programs, which are harm-reduction interventions that provide alcohol to people with severe alcohol dependence. The work is part of a national study led by UVic's Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR).

How much does alcohol cost? Think beyond the price of a bottle of wine; how many deaths per year are due to alcohol-related colon cancer? How about hospitalizations due to impaired driving accidents? To calculate these costs, PhD student Adam Sherk developed the International Model of Alcohol Harms and Policies, or InterMAHP.

Starting today, warning labels cautioning consumers about the link between alcohol use and an increased risk of breast and colon cancer will be applied to all bottles and cans sold at the Whitehorse liquor store. This specific labelling, part of the study led by UVic’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, is a first for Canada.

It wasn't so long ago that Molly was just a name. Now, the moniker is slang for the chemical compound MDMA, also known on the street as ecstasy, an illegal psychoactive drug known for its ability to invoke feelings of empathy and euphoria—and a popular drug of choice among festival-goers and young people.

A collaborative style of health research guided by those whose lives are the focus of the research is the model for a new Greater Victoria study aimed at helping people with multiple barriers get the primary health care they need without feeling judged, stigmatized and shut out.

Over the years, a number of studies have shown that adults who drink moderately have lower heart disease rates than non-drinkers. But a new paper led by scientists at the UVic's Centre for Addictions Research provides grounds for a healthy skepticism around the idea that moderate drinking is good for you.

Primary health care delivered with understanding and compassion for people who use drugs is the focus of Greater Victoria's first patient-oriented research study funded through a collaboration between UVic, Island Health, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

With BC's drug overdose epidemic reaching record levels, health care providers are seeking new methods and tools to contain the crisis. UVic's biophysical chemist Dennis Hore has been working to develop an inexpensive mobile device to assist frontline health workers when assisting drug users.

​People who mix highly caffeinated energy drinks with their alcoholic beverages may be at increased risk for injury—both intentional (fights and violence) and unintentional (falling, tripping and motor vehicle accidents)—according to a new study by the UVic's Centre for Addictions Research.

To help navigate this stigma dn multiple barriers to access information about opioid substitution treatment (OST) in BC, UVic’s Centre for Addictions Research produced a users’ guide to the world of prescription opioids (such as methadone and suboxone), treatment and recovery. The handbook was co-written by OST patients, supported by funding from the Province of BC.

UVic's Centre for Addictions Research releases a handbook co-written by a group of patients with experience of opioid substitution treatment in BC.