Gateway's 30th Virtual Lecture Addresses Substance Use in Rural Primary & Community Care

by Bob Montgomery

Doctor Mike Beazely is an associate professor at the University of Waterloo’s School of Pharmacy and the Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health's newest Research Chair.

He'll be hosting next Tuesday's virtual webinar Addressing Substance Use in Rural Primary & Community Care. Doctor Beazely says he wants to take advantage of the opportunity to talk a bit about his research and some of the resources that are available at the School of Pharmacy and elsewhere that can help educate the general public as well as some of the healthcare practitioners in the region.

Doctor Beazley says most people are aware now that the opioid crisis is not just an urban centre problem, it's everywhere. And he points out things like smoking or the consumption of alcohol are also serious health risks, but they're long term risks, whereas opioids can be fatal almost immediately. He also points out that every day there are success stories of people reducing their dependence on opioids or no longer using opioids at all, but he says what we hear about more often is the stories of the people who don't survive and that's understandable when we are in the midst of a crisis.

Doctor Beazley says they'll be talking a bit about opioids and some of the projects one of his PhD students is working on during the webinar. He says he'll be talking about cannabis as well because it's now been five years since recreational cannabis was legalized and they'll also be looking at the the use of some emerging psychedelic prescription drugs.

The webinar runs from noon until one o'clock on Tuesday, January 9th and a link to register for the webinar can be found on the Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health website.