April 6, 2021
Peterborough Currents
A ‘caring and community-wide approach’ is needed to address drug poisonings, Dr. Rosana Salvaterra says
Article Highlights:
On March 24, partners of the Peterborough Drug Strategy (PDS) held the first in a series of media and public engagement events intended to raise awareness of the local opioid crisis and reduce the stigma associated with substance use.
The goal of PDS’s new public education campaign is “to foster greater understanding of the causes of the opioid crisis and evidence-based solutions needed to address it.”
“This stigma, manifesting in negative language and attitudes, drives people further underground at a time when it may be very crucial to ask for help. It devalues people’s self worth, builds barriers to treatment and other services, and divides our community into an us-versus-them dichotomy that does not reflect the complexities of addiction and drug poisoning.” - Dylan DeMarsh, PARN
Over the coming months, PDS will continue to share information about the causes of and solutions to the drug crisis. DeMarsh says the next session will focus on the principles behind harm reduction. In the meantime, work will continue at a grassroots level to save as many lives as possible.
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