Issues of Substance (IOS) is Canada’s premier national conference on alcohol, drugs and other substances. Hosted by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA)—Canada’s national non-governmental organization working to reduce alcohol- and drug-related harms—IOS is held every two years in November to complement National Drug and Addictions Awareness Week. This year, IOS is being held from November 6–9, 2011, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Conference goals:
- To provide a forum for knowledge exchange with a view to improving practice and policy development
- To provide networking opportunities to stimulate collaboration within the field
- To help strengthen Canada’s focus and investment in prevention, health promotion and treatment
The theme for IOS 2011 is Diversifying Our Investments: Capitalizing on Advances in Health Promotion, Prevention and Treatment. In today’s economic environment we need to make every investment count—and this is especially true when looking at how to effectively prevent and address problematic substance abuse. With a cost of more than $40 billion a year, the harmful use of alcohol and other drugs and substances is an enormous problem in Canada. This year’s theme will focus on research as well as new and best practices over the entire continuum of care—from health promotion and prevention to treatment and recovery—in order to effectively invest limited funds to maximize the positive outcomes for all Canadians.