Substance Use in Primary and Community Care

In Pharmacy and other health care professions mental health and addictions work is often carried out in specialized settings and is focused on pathological substance use and use disorder. Addictions research is also almost entirely dedicated to substance use disorder and treatment. In most community and primary settings, stigma about substance use presents an additional barrier to addressing the impacts of substance use on disease and medication management. This course focuses on substance use in any form and how it affects disease progression, pharmaceutical care including drug interactions, and public health. We identify traditional and emerging types of research and information, including data from non-medical research sources. Community engagement and the pharmacists becoming a community substance educator will be explored. Drug and drug classes covered include opioids, methamphetamine, cocaine, prescription and other stimulants, GABAergic drugs, serotonergic, glutamatergic, and cholinergic hallucinogens, entactogens, alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis.