Pubdate: Fri, 23 Mar 2007 Source: Vancouver Courier (CN BC) Copyright: 2007 Vancouver Courier Contact: http://www.vancourier.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/474 Author: Robert Mangelsdorf, Contributing writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction) CITY'S POINT MAN ON DRUGS A WINNER City Drug Policy Coordinator Donald MacPherson has won a national award for his efforts to improve the lives of drug users. The Kaiser Award for Excellence recognizes people and groups who promote physical and mental health through drug harm reduction methods. MacPherson, who was responsible for drafting the city's Four Pillar drug policy, won in the Public Policy category. "It's such a dire situation that sometimes it's nice to get the recognition that something positive is happening," he said. The Four Pillar approach MacPherson championed focuses on harm reduction, prevention, treatment and enforcement, and many of the policy's measures have been credited with saving lives in the Downtown Eastside. Those measures include Insite, the supervised injection site; the North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI), which provides heroin addicts with free prescribed heroin; and the city's recent Chronic Addiction Substitution Treatment (CAST) program, which will provide legal prescription drug substitutes to crack cocaine and crystal meth users. "I think generally people like the idea of the Four Pillars," MacPherson said. "They'd just like to see more funding and more variety in the types of programs available." Since 2001, when the Four Pillars policy was adopted, MacPherson has seen a change in how people view drug policy. "I think most people get it, they understand that you need both a robust health approach as well as a very coordinated enforcement approach to the illegal side of things," he said. In 2005, MacPherson authored a report suggesting non-addictive psychoactive drugs such as peyote and magic mushrooms could be used to treat hardcore drug addictions. MacPherson says the report likely would not and could not have been written 10 years earlier-evidence that public opinion has shifted to more progressive and open-minded solutions to drug abuse. He hopes the award will spark other cities' interest in a Four Pillar approach to drug problems. Winners of the award receive a $10,000 grant to be given to the charity of their choice. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom