Co-creation of culturally-safe drug checking practices for Indigenous Peoples who use illicit drugs

Indigenous Peoples who use illicit drugs (IPWUID) are disproportionately affected by the drug poisoning crisis. Community-wide drug checking is a potential response to address the problem. Previous research has explored how best to implement drug checking as a response to overdose, as well as how to better include people who use drugs (PWUD) within drug-checking. However, Indigenous Peoples are not well represented in this research and Indigenous research approaches have not yet been undertaken. This study uses Indigenous research methods to better understand the needs and perspectives of IPWUID in accessing new drug checking technologies and services. It also explores the gaps in drug checking services for IPWUID in British Columbia (BC) and examines how unmet drug checking needs may affect their health outcomes. The outcome will be an Indigenous Harm Reduction approach to drug checking to inform new models and knowledge production approaches that best meet the needs of IPWUID.