Lisa Campbell Salazar Senior North American IWG Representative , Youth RISE

1. Hidden youth- building knowledge to support effective harm reduction for young people who use drugs Lisa Campbell Salazar Senior North American IWG Representative, Youth RISE

2. Young People Who Use Drugs • Globally, drug use is on the rise with young people accounting for a large portion of the population, yet a minority in accessing harm reduction services due to age restrictions and lack of youth friendly services • Due to the criminalization of drug use, youth stay underground and are not open about their use, thus often don’t participate in research • General population drug epidemiological studies often measure youth drug use in school settings, missing marginalized youth

3. Young People Who Use Drugs • Young people who use drugs are often excluded from participating in shaping research questions, thus asking questions that are out of date with current youth trends • Surveys of drug users often are conducted in needle exchanges which are not youth friendly and have age limits, with limited services for non-injection drug users

4. Ethical Concerns • Surveys conducted with young people who use drugs can often trigger youth as they go into detailed life histories, brings up painful memories • Many young people who use drugs are not able to consent according to traditional research ethical guidelines, and as such their experiences are excluded • Social scientists dismiss trends, due to the fact that they are not prevalent in the general population (i.e. injection drug use) but largely affecting young people who use drugs

5. Case Study: TRIP! Project Toronto, Canada • TRIP! is a youth-led harm reduction project that works with youth in Toronto’s dance music community • Community-based surveys engage youth in shaping research questions to keep track of up to date drug trends • Partnership with Health Canada in national survey on party drug users • Data is shared with Toronto Drug Strategy which shares it at a national level with groups such as the CCSA • Surveys show triple level of drug use compared to general high school population

6. “Alcohol, cannabis, and the medicine cabinet…” • One in four Ontario teens is a binge drinker • One in four Ontario teens have smoked pot in the last year • 42% of Ontario students reported use of any drug other than alcohol or tobacco • About 18% of Ontario students report using a prescription opioid pain reliever non-medically in the year

7. TRIP! Survey Data

8. TRIP! Survey Data

9. Conclusions • Young people need to be included in shaping research questions and need to be consulted • Supports must be put in place for young people who use drugs to participate in research, including counseling services, as well as recognition that young people who are high can still consent when they are intoxicated

10. Conclusions • Epidemiological surveys need to utilize networks of young people who use drugs in order to reach active drug users, including party drug users and street-involved youth • More research funding to study how young people who use drugs are affected by HIV, including young people who inject drugs, as well as sexual health of non-IDU youth