This article explores, from a public health perspective, the harm done by Canadian drug laws, to both individuals and society. It challenges the perceived dichotomy of legalization and criminalization of intravenous drugs. The article then expands the discussion by exploring eight legal options for illicit drugs and examines how these options interact with the marginalization of users, the illi...

Several recent studies have found an association between bullying and depression [1] or bullying and suicide-related behaviors [2], and one study found evidence consistent with a causal link, at least for girls [3,4]. These studies, in conjunction with extensive media coverage of the deaths by suicide of several young people who were victims of bullying, led the Centers for Disease Control and ...

The modern burden of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and related conditions is the result of a complex web of interacting factors, with the individual sitting at the nexus of a network of biological, social, societal and environmental forces that together impact their risk of disease. Our biological predispositions to chronic diseases have origins deep in evol...

In concert with clinical medicine, which addresses diseases in individuals, the public health approach targets behavioral, sociocultural, and environmental factors that contribute to disease and injury in populations. For example, over the last 40 years, coordinated government efforts and efforts and private sector initiatives decreased smoking prevalence by almost half through taxation of toba...