ID: HR19-336

Presenting author: Ole Jørgen Lygren

Presenting author biography:

I`m a 46 year old man and previous drug addict, working on peer involvement on diffrent levels. Levels such as research, Opioid Maintenance Treatment (OMT) guidlines, policy and hepatitis peerwork. I`ve been employed at a user organization in Norway for 10 years.

Peer based drug policy advisory board changing politics in Norway

Ole Jørgen Lygren, Ronny Bjørnestad

TYPE : Oral

TRACK : Policy

AUTHORS : 1 Ole Jørgen Lygren 2 Ronny Bjørnestad

TITLE : Peer based drug policy advisory board changing politics in Norway

In the city of Bergen, Norways` second largest city, there has been over the last 30 years large issues with drugs, including having Northen Europes` largest open drug scene, a high prevalence of amfetamin use. In addition, we`ve had a large cohort of people living outside the society, without stable living conditions and a high burden of health problems. There are also an aging group of 1040 Opioid Maintenance Treatment (OMT) clients.

As a response to this challenge the Bergen community council established a drug policy advisory board where they elected a group consisting of representatives from the civil society, including members of user organisations, next of kin and non govermental organisations working with drugs and addictions.

The advisory board meets every six week at the town hall with members of the local politicians.The advisory board is invited to give guidance to ongoing drug related issues based on their experiences.The advisory board, The advisory board work to give the best user driven advice and recomomdations to the health and social commitee of the community concil.

This results in that the citys health and social politics have a major user and civil society involvement that gives a broader mandat and that the advisory board have a huge impact on the ongoing drug policies in Bergen.

One example of the impact of this involment is, based on the recommendation from the advisory board, these has been a restructuring of injection rooms to more broader user rooms. Here users can safely use their drugs of choise and choose use such as injection, , smoking and/or oral intake.