News & events

A new report, co-led by CISUR and CCSA, reveals that substance use costs Canadian society $38.4 billion in 2014, with alcohol being the lead contributor.

A nationally recognized scholar, UVic sociologist Cecilia Benoit has illuminated the need for equitable treatment of marginalized populations, especially women, for more than 25 years. To support this important work, the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation has awarded Benoit a $225,000 fellowship over the next three years.

As cannabis legalization approaches and we see increasing deregulation of government controls on alcohol, Canada is at a pivotal time in policy-making around substance use. What can we learn from our neighbours to the south? Dr. William Kerr, a Senior Scientist and Director of ARG’s National Alcohol Research Center in Emeryville, California, looks at privatization of alcohol sales and the legalization of cannabis in Washington State, and how these changes have affected pricing, attitudes and consumption.

CISUR is pleased to present this public talk from the Reducing Stigma in Primary Care Research Team, available in person in Victoria, BC or via webinar.

The BC Ministry of Public Safety & Solicitor General has provided funding to the University of Victoria’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR, formerly CARBC) to support community dialogues in response to the opioid overdose crisis in British Columbia. Community coalitions from every region of the province are invited to submit a letter of interest in engaging their community in dialogue about opioid and other drug use. CARBC will provide selected communities with grants ranging from $2,000 to $15,000 to assist with costs associated with hosting a community dialogue.

For the first time, a peer-reviewed journal has compiled the largest collection of peer-reviewed articles on MAPs that aims to bring this radical harm-reduction strategy out into the open and shed light on how, in their different forms, they contribute to the health and well-being of participants.

Starting today, warning labels cautioning consumers about the link between alcohol use and an increased risk of breast and colon cancer will be applied to all bottles and cans sold at the Whitehorse liquor store. This specific labelling, part of the Northern Territories Alcohol study led by the University of Victoria’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR, formerly CARBC) and Public Health Ontario (PHO), is a first for Canada.

The International Model of Alcohol Harms and Policies (InterMAHP) version 1.0 is a comprehensive set of guidelines, methods and manuals, as well as a SAS®-based tool created towards the goal of standardizing and automating the calculation and application of alcohol-attributable fractions (AAFs) globally.

CISUR research plays key role in Scottish Supreme Court alcohol decision

Our latest research bulletin looks at a project where sex workers became health educators

What’s in a name? For the University of Victoria’s Centre for Addictions Research of BC (CARBC), many things. Which is why we will now be known as the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR).

CISUR and Island Health release "A Public Health Guide to Developing a Community Overdose Response Plan."

CISUR (formerly CARBC) is pleased to announce the release of its 2016/17 annual report.

CISUR Director Tim Stockwell on alcohol & cancer, industry obfuscation and the most viable approach to reduce population harms from alcohol