Health and Community Services
May 7, 2008

Province to Hold Consultations on Substance Use

The Provincial Government will embark on a series of province-wide consultations over the next month to help develop a Provincial Substance Use Strategy aimed at preventing and treating problematic substance use.

"Our government is committed to the prevention of substance abuse and supporting individuals and families suffering from substance abuse by providing the resources they need to recover, such as counselling and community supports," said the Honourable Ross Wiseman, Minister of Health and Community Services. "Problematic substance use has a devastating impact on individuals, families and communities. In addition to the current range of services we provide, a long-term comprehensive provincial substance use strategy is necessary to influence the prevalence of substance abuse and sustain real change in our province."

The consultations into the development of a provincial substance use strategy will address a number of aspects including health promotion, prevention, education and awareness, enforcement, treatment and harm reduction such as the prevention of secondary effects from substance abuse (i.e. disease transmission from needle-sharing). The goal of the strategy is to prevent problematic substance use and to provide effective treatment, enforcement and harm reduction strategies.

The consultations on substance use follow the Provincial Government�s recent Budget 2008 investment of $1.7 million this year into mental health and addictions, bringing the total investment in this area to $14.6 million. As well, over $600,000 was invested in Budget 2008 for a prevention and early outreach program for addictions.

There will be a total of 25 consultations held with various targeted stakeholder groups by invitation including youth, seniors, persons with disabilities, as well as cultural and front-line service organizations. As well, individuals interested in providing input into the proposed strategy can visit www.gov.nl.ca/health to view the discussion document and profile paper and provide responses to questions posed in the on-line form. Responses can be sent via fax at 729-5824 or mailed to Renee Ryan, Addictions Consultant, Department of Health and Community Services, Confederation Building West Block, PO Box 8700, St. John�s, NL, A1B 4J6. The deadline for submissions is Monday, June 16, 2008.

"Consultation with stakeholders and the general public is essential to ensuring that the strategy best meets the needs of our residents," said Minister Wiseman. "Our goal is that the development of this substance use strategy will give us a clear picture of the range of substance use in our communities, ranging from healthy and appropriate use to problematic use and addictions. Ultimately, this strategy will help us move forward in a focused and strategic way to combat and prevent problematic substance use."

The Department of Health and Community Services has established a provincial working group to develop a provincial substance use strategy, within the Provincial Mental Health and Addictions Policy Framework. The working group includes representation from the Departments of Education, Justice, Human Resources, Labour and Employment, the RNC and RCMP as well as various other community stakeholder groups and individuals in recovery.

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Media contact:
Glenda Power
Director of Communications
Department of Health and Community Services
709-729-1377, 685-1741
glendapower@gov.nl.ca

2008 05 07                                                    10:50 a.m.

 


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