• donald_macpherson@sfu.ca

Biography

Mr Donald MacPherson is one of Canada’s leading figures in drug policy and advocates drug policies based on principles of public health, scientific evidence, human rights and social inclusion.

Mr MacPherson is currently the Director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition a national coalition of organizations and individuals working to improve Canada’s drug policies. The Coalition is a partner project with the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addictions (CARMHA).

He is involved in drug policy work at local, national and international levels. Formerly he was North America’s first Drug Policy Coordinator at the City of Vancouver where he worked for 22 years. He is the author of Vancouver’s groundbreaking Four Pillars Drug Strategy, which called for new approaches to drug problems based on public health principles and the appropriate regulation of all psychoactive substances. In 2007 he received the Kaiser Foundation National Award of Excellence in Public Policy in Canada. In 2009 he was awarded the Richard Dennis Drug Peace Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Drug Policy Reform by the Drug Policy Alliance in the United States and the City of Vancouver was awarded the Canadian Urban Institutes Secure City Award for the Four Pillars Drug Strategy.

Mr MacPherson is currently Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada.