Eyes Wide Open
Canada and the U.S.A. lead the world in per capita opioid consumption,
but is that the gold medal Canadians are seeking? The spike in opioid prescriptions has led to accidental overdoses becoming a leading cause of unintentional death, a concurrent rise in addiction, a risk factor for crime and victimization and a significant socio-economic burden. Our opioid crisis is now more than 10 years old and may get worse before it gets better.
Eyes Wide Open brings together top physicians and other experts from Canada, USA and the U.K. to point the way forward in addressing the dangerous downside to Canada’s appetite for opioids. We know enough to know better…now what?
Join your neighbours across Canada for 12 eye-opening webinars on the major issues. Suitable for those in primary care, public health, mental health, health promotion, policy and planning, social services, addictions, research, government, the private sector, community and more…there is truly something for everyone.
Webinars: Introduction
A Primer to Understanding Opioid Issues in Canada and the USA
Speaker: Michael Parkinson, Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council
Date/time: March 18, 2pm (pre-recorded)
This introductory webinar will provide a brief overview of the major issues, questions and remedies for preventing and reducing opioid-related harm in Canada. Examining our country’s collective response to the issue can provide important lessons as we move forward on the critical issues that many preeminent organizations in the U.S.A. call “a deadly epidemic.”
Michael Parkinson spends most of his day doing work related to drugs- prescriptions, alcohol and illicit substances- sometimes all three. In collaboration with community and Council, Michael is responsible for a variety of endeavours, including the Waterloo Region Integrated Drugs Strategy and a substantial body of work related to accidental overdoses. The Crime Prevention Council is a national model for crime prevention through social development with a mandate to prevent and reduce crime, fear of crime and victimization. Access recent research via the WRCPC website.
Key Links:
@wrdrugstrategy
@preventingcrime
www.preventingcrime.ca
Physicians For Responsible Prescribing
Speaker: Dr. Andrew Kolodny, President PROP
Date/time: March 21, 2pm
Physicians and others can mobilize for smarter prescribing and smarter health policy. And do! Hear from an organization whose mission is to reduce the morbidity and mortality resulting from the prescribing of opioids, and to promote cautious, safe and responsible opioid prescribing practices. They have the attention of many in the U.S.A., and may be a model for moving forward in Canada.
Dr. Andrew Kolodny is the Chair of Psychiatry at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. Board certified in Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine, Dr. Kolodny is a national expert on the opioid addiction epidemic. In his clinical practice, he specializes in the treatment of opioid addiction.
Dr. Kolodny has a long-standing interest in public health and community psychiatry. He is currently President of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing (PROP) and was previously the Medical Director for Special Projects in the Office of the Executive Deputy Commissioner for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. For New York City, he helped develop and implement multiple programs to improve the health of New Yorkers and save lives, including city-wide buprenorphine programs, naloxone overdose prevention programs and emergency room-based screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) programs for drug and alcohol misuse.
Key Links: www.supportprop.org