LAMDA CPD SESSION AUGUST 16, 2021 5:30-7:30 PM WITH Zoë Dodd

Facilitated by law student Andrew Paton

“The experiences of people who use drugs with mandated drug treatment”

BIO

Zoë Dodd is a long time harm reduction and drug user advocate, organizer, activist and scholar. She is currently working at MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health, as the inaugural Community Scholar https://maphealth.ca/dodd/ . She has been focused on work related to Hepatitis C, HIV, drug policy, and overdose response. She has been instrumental in addressing the overdose crisis which has taken the lives of thousands of people in Canada. She is the recipient of many awards, is engaged with several research projects and recently completed a masters at York University in the Department of Environment and Urban Change where she focused her work on the experiences of people who use drugs with mandated drug treatment. 

The TALK

As calls for decriminalization mount, mandated drug treatment is frequently cited as a potential way to address the health and social consequences that can stem from illicit drug use and divert people away from criminal sanctions. There is however, a major lack of evidence available regarding the experiences of people who have been mandated to participate in existing treatment programs. My primary research focus explored how low-income people who have been mandated to participate in the drug treatment system describe and feel about their experiences with them. To my knowledge, this is the first qualitative study of its kind that directly asked individuals who were mandated into treatment to reflect on their positive and negative experiences with the treatment system. 

This research is important for those who are working within the legal system to critically explore what they are sending people to.

Questions for discussion may include: does drug treatment work for the intended purposes? Does diversion work? How can we support people who are struggling without mandating them to treatment? Is mandating treatment necessary?

Write to lamda.exec@gmail for the Zoom instruction and to Register – capped at 100