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Decriminalization Evaluation Team


Advisory Board 

To support the ongoing scientific and evidence-based evaluation, the Ontario CRISM Node established an expert Advisory Board comprised of national and international researchers, academics, people with lived and living experience, health policy evaluators, policy makers, and economists to oversee the evaluation. The Advisory Board members will formally participate in quarterly meetings (four meetings per year over the course of five years) to provide guidance, feedback, and input on the proposed evaluation study and sub-studies, as well as the associated data and knowledge translation activities. At each meeting the advisory board will come together to discuss the progress of the evaluation, individual sub-studies, associated data and knowledge translation activities and provide feedback and direction to inform future work.

 

Purpose

The purpose of the Advisory Board is to bring together experts in research, evaluation, drug policy, and decriminalization to contribute to the ongoing evaluation. As decriminalization is a complex policy which will have impacts on an array of sectors (e.g., healthcare, criminal justice system, social services, etc.), it is important to draw on experts' testimonies, experiences, and knowledge to ensure that the evaluation considers and captures all potentially impacted domains. For all Indigenous-specific data, we will work with the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) in British Columbia and other relevant Indigenous organizations.


General Process

Identification of advisory board members relied on content experts from the Ontario CRISM Node as well as the decriminalization grant team, who proposed members with demonstrated expertise and experience with national and international drug policy, research, and decriminalization initiatives. Emails were sent out to proposed members providing a general description of the study and gauging their interest in participating in an advisory capacity. Interested individuals reviewed a Terms of Reference document, completed Conflict of Interest forms, and agreed to participate in an advisory capacity for the extent of the five-year evaluation.

Dr. Louisa Degenhardt, PhD, University of New South Wales Scientia Professor, NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, Australia

Dr. Jean Costello, PhD, Director of Research and Evaluation at Homewood Research Institute, Guelph

Dr. João Goulão, MD, Director General, The Intervention Service for Addictive Behaviors and Addictions (SICAD), Lisbon, Portugal

Mr. Kurt Lock, Harm Reduction Coordinator, British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), Vancouver, BC, Canada

Dr. Sanjana Mitra, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Dr. Wayne Smith, PhD, Health Economic Lead, Health Economics Unit, Staffordshire, United Kingdom


Nominal Group Technique (NGT) Board

In order to develop a scientific and evidence-based evaluation framework, the Ontario CRISM Node collaborated with a number of international drug policy experts and stakeholders who formally participated in an international board to support the development of the evaluation framework for the decriminalization of illicit

substances in BC.

 

Purpose

The purpose of the international board was to bring together world-renowned experts in drug policy and decriminalization to contribute to the development of the evaluation framework. As decriminalization is a complex policy that will likely have impacts on a vast array of sectors (e.g., healthcare, criminal justice, social services, etc.), it is important to draw on international experts' knowledge and experiences of decriminalization elsewhere to ensure that the evaluation design and framework capture all potentially impacted domains.

General Process

Initial recruitment for the board relied on content experts from the Ontario CRISM Node research team who proposed members with known expertise and experience with international drug policy and decriminalization initiatives. Each board member completed a Conflict of Interest (COI) form to identify any perceived or real COI that could create risk of bias in making decisions and drafting recommendations for the evaluation, and committed to the process of developing the evaluation design, as outlined below.

The international board was a time-limited group established to support the development of the evaluation design and framework. The international board was comprised of approximately 15 international experts who came together in a three-step virtual conference process to contribute to the design. The organization of the process employed a Nominal Group Technique to triangulate knowledge and reach a consensus on the evaluation design, as this specific Delphi technique has been shown to yield better results than purely interactive groups. 

The three steps occurred between November 2022 and January 2023, and are as follows:

Step 1 consisted of the distribution of a draft evaluation framework design which outlined the proposed evaluation and provided Likert scale questions asking each board member to rank how effective they believe the proposed design will be for evaluating decriminalization, and asked members to provide feedback and suggestions

Step 2 consisted of the core research team collating and integrating board member's responses and feedback, and revising the draft framework with these suggestions in mind

Step 3 consisted of a one-day virtual meeting where the revised framework was shared with board members via the nominal group technique where board members participated and came to a consensus and finalized the evaluation design ​

Mr. Matthew Bonn, Knowledge User, National Board member with Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, International Drug Policy Specialist; Communications Manager, Canadian AIDS Society, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Dr. Julie Bruneau, MD, Nominated Principal Investigator (NPI) Quebec Node, CRISM; Physician, Drug Addiction Service, Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM); Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Montreal, Quebec

Dr. Alexis Crabtree, MD, PhD, Senior Scientist and Medical Lead, Harm Reduction and Substance use Services, BC Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, British Columbia

Dr. Louisa Degenhardt, PhD, University of New South Wales Scientia Professor, NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, New South Wales, Australia

Dr. João Goulão, MD, Director General, the Intervention Service for Addictive Behaviors and Addictions (SICAD), Lisbon, Portugal

Dr. Alissa Greer, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor, School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University (SFU); Harm Reduction Program Peer Engagement & Evaluation Project (PEEP), BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), Vancouver, British Columbia

Mr. Paul Griffiths, MSC Scientific Director, European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), Lisbon, Portugal

Dr. Matthew Hickman, PhD, Director of National Institute Health Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit on Behavioral Science and Evaluation; Professor in Public Health and Epidemiology, Deputy Head of Bristol Medical School at University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom

Dr. David Hodgins, PhD, Nominated Principal Investigator (NPI) Prairies Node, CRISM; Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta

Dr. Wayne Smith, PhD, Health Economic Lead, Health Economics Unit, Staffordshire, United Kingdom

Dr. Sherry Stewart, PhD, Nominated Principal Investigator (NPI) Atlantic Node, CRISM; Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Dr. Dan Werb, PhD, Co-Applicant, Research Scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital; Director of the Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation (CDPE), Toronto, Ontari



​Core Evaluation Research Team
 

Dr. Farihah Ali, PhD, Principal Applicant, Ontario CRISM Node Team (OCRINT) Manager and Scientific Lead; Institute for Mental Health Policy Research (IMHPR), Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Ontario

Mr. Matthew Bonn, Knowledge User, National Board member with Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, International Drug Policy Specialist; Communications Manager, Canadian AIDS Society, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Mr. Jean Francois Crepault, PhD Candidate, Co-Applicant, Senior Policy Analyst at the Centre for Addiction in Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Ontario

Dr. Sameer Imtiaz, PhD, Co-Applicant, Associate Scientist with the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research (IMHPR), Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Ontario

Dr. Bernard Le Foll, PhD, Co-Applicant, Clinician Scientist, Head of the Translational Addiction Research Laboratory in the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Ontario

Dr. Tara Elton-Marshall, PhD, Co-Applicant, Associate Professor in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario

Dr. Renee Linklater, PhD, Principal Applicant, Member of Rainy River First Nations, Director of the Shkaabe Makwa Centre at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Ontario

Dr. Jürgen Rehm, PhD, Nominated Principal Investigator, Ontario CRISM Node Team (OCRINT); Senior Scientist, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research & Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Ontario

Ms. Cayley Russell, MA, Research Manager, Ontario CRISM Node Team (OCRINT); Institute for Mental Health Policy Research (IMHPR), Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Ontario

Dr. Rita Shahin, MD, Principal Knowledge User, Associate Medical Officer of Health with Toronto Public Health, Toronto, Ontario

Dr. Dan Werb, PhD, Co-Applicant, Research Scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital; Director of the Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation (CDPE), Toronto, Ontario


Decriminalization Evaluation Team and Working Group Members

Ms. Winnie Agnew-Pauley, Research Coordinator, Simon Fraser University (SFU), Vancouver, British Columbia

Dr. Geoff Bardwell, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario

Dr. Jade Boyd, PhD, Assistant Professor, UBC Division of Social Medicine; Research Scientist, British Columbia Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU), Vancouver, British Columbia

Ms. Juls Budau, Research Advisor, University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, BC

Ms. Charlene Burmeister, Stakeholder Engagement Lead, BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), Vancouver, and Executive Director, Coalition of Substance Users of the North (CSUN), Quesnel, British Columbia

Dr. Amanda Butler, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor, Criminology, Simon Fraser University (SFU); Associate, Access to Justice Centre for Excellence, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia

Dr. Alexis Crabtree, MD, PhD, Senior Scientist and Medical Lead, Harm Reduction and Substance use Services, BC Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, British Columbia

Mr. Frank Crichlow, Board President, Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs (CAPUD), Toronto, Ontario

Ms. Sarah Ferencz, JD, Research Coordinator; Simon Fraser University (SFU), Vancouver, British Columbia

Dr. Tara Gomes, PhD, Principal Investigator, Ontario Drug Policy Network (ODPRN), St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario

Dr. Alissa Greer, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor, School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University (SFU); Harm Reduction Program Peer Engagement & Evaluation Project (PEEP), BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), Vancouver, British Columbia

Mr. Dylan Griffiths, Peer, Co-Founder of Kootenay Insurrection for Safe Supply, Kootenay, BC

Ms. Iesha Henderson, Regional Program Manager, Peer and Harm Reduction Services, RainCity Housing and Support Society, Vancouver, BC​

Ms. Kate Hodgson, NP, First Nations Health Authority (FNHA), British Columbia Centre for Substance Use (BCCSU); North Island Medical, Powell River, British Columbia

Dr. Elaine Hyshka, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Public Health; University of Alberta (UofA); Scientific Director of the Inner City Health and Wellness Program, Calgary, Alberta

Ms. Brooke Kinniburgh, Senior Practice Lead, Epidemiology, BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), Vancouver, British Columbia

Dr. Laura Mackinnon, MD, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), British Columbia Centre for Substance Use (BCCSU); First Nations Health Authority (FNHA), Vancouver, British Columbia

Ms. Taija McLuckie, Harm Reduction Support Worker, AVI Health and Community Services, Courtenay, British Columbia

Mr. Michael Nurse, Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention, Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs (CAPUD), Toronto, Ontario

Dr. Heather Palis, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia (UBC); BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), Vancouver, British Columbia

Mr. Sean Patenaude, Patient Engagement Coordinator, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Ontario

Mr. Joshua Pelletier, Peer, KANDU, Kelowna, British Columbia​

Kali-olt Sedgemore, President, Coalition of Peers Dismantling the Drug War; Youth Health Advisory Council, British Columbia Centre for Substance Use (BCCSU), Vancouver, BC

Dr. Rita Shahin, MD, Associate Medical Officer, Toronto Public Health, Toronto, Ontario

Dr. Amanda Slaunwhite, PhD, Principal Investigator, Provincial Overdose Cohort, BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), Vancouver, British Columbia

Ms. Heather Spence, Indigenous Peer Expert, Executive Director of Kelowna Area Network of Drug Users (KANDU), Kelowna, British Columbia

Ms. Sierra Williams, MPH, Public Health Manager, Harm Reduction & Substance Use Services, BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), Vancouver, British Columbia

Ms. Chloe Xavier, MPH, Epidemiologist, Provincial Overdose Cohort, BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), Vancouver, British Columbia

Ms. Jessica Xavier, MPH, Evaluation Specialist, Harm Reduction, BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), Vancouver, British Columbia

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