The mission of the Harm Reduction Program is to study, document, and to clinically evaluate how medically prescribed cannabinoids could be an alternative treatment for methadone and suboxone (the current opioid agonists treatment) and to enhance and support individuals as they taper off these medications.
The Harm Reduction Program will record its findings through science base data and offer an understanding of how medical cannabinoids can play an important role in reducing the use of current opioid agonists treatment.
The Program will also look at the quality of life for individuals who currently receive medically prescribed opioid treatment. The impacts of this Harm Reduction Program will be evaluated at the individual and community level and will be measured both quantitatively and qualitatively.
A team of researchers from the University of New Brunswick, under chief researcher Dr. Rob Moir, associate professor of business and director of the Urban &Community Studies Institute will design, develop, and assess the rigor, the non-medical health and wellness of this innovative cannabinoid alternative treatment regime. Guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and peer -reviewed research, researchers will seek to understand how the medical treatment affects the general health and wellness of both individuals in the program and upon the larger community. UNB’s research will respect the principles of ownership, control, access, and possession (OCAP) and be informed by the principles of the United Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Across baseline and treatment phases of the study – the researchers will collect data at the individual and community levels). UNB’s research contribution will be led supported by the New Brunswick Institute for Data, Research and Training (NB-IRDT).
At the community level, the impact of prescribed cannabis will be evaluated with community leaders’ perceptions of alternative treatment options for those in their communities impacted by opioid addiction and current western medical approaches (e.g., methadone and suboxone). This data will be collected via narrative interviews before and after the community is presented with the individual data as described above.