'Made in Canada solution' for severe alcoholism comes out from under the radar

A harm-reduction approach that gives measured doses of wine to people with severe alcohol dependencyis coming out from under the radar in a new publication featuringUniversity of Victoriaresearchers.

The upcomingissue of the Drug and Alcohol Reviewwill feature a collection of peer-reviewed articles including several based on the first Canada-wide study of managed alcohol programs involving nearly400 participants.

Bernie Paulyand Tim Stockwell, scientists with UVic's Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research and co-editors of the special issue, said they hope the publication will stimulate debate and focus future research on the "under-serviced" populationwith severe alcohol dependency.

"We were invited by Drug and Alcohol Review to do the special issue because prior to our national study there wasn't a lot of research that had been done on managed alcohol programs," Pauly said.

"To our knowledge, prior to the national study there was only one published article."

Measured alcohol programs, known asMAPs,provide tailored doses of alcohol on a regular schedule through the dayto individuals with severe alcohol addiction. Most programs also providehousing.

Pauly, who is also an associate professor in the UVic school of nursing,said the effectiveness of MAPs programs is clear.

"It reduces harms of being outside, reduces harms ofoverconsumption, or binge drinking, and also provides an opportunity for connection with social and health services," she said.

However, she said, there are still unanswered questions such as its long-term impact and the potential of MAPsfor women.

Pauly said there are more than 20 measured alcohol programsofficially operating in Canada, though she believes many more operate quietly providing scheduled alcohol doses fora small number of clients.

International interest

"We often talk about managed alcohol programs as a made-in-Canada solution," Pauly said.

As she and Stockwellconducted the MAPsstudy, they heard from a number of other countries that are interested in developing managed alcohol programs.

Paulysaid she will soon meet withservice providers in Scotland who are interested in the program.Australia has also conducted feasibility studies on the concept.

With files from Sarah Towle.