FHS adjunct professor Donald MacPherson appointed to Order of Canada

by Sharon Mah 

Donald MacPherson, former executive director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition and Faculty of Health Sciences adjunct professor, was named as a member of the Order of Canada in June 2023. 

He is being recognized for his long-time dedication to and promotion of harm reduction and evidence-based approaches to drug policy reform. MacPherson, a leading national and international figure in drug policy development, has long called for an urgent response to the devastating drug toxicity crisis in Canada and a comprehensive rethink of Canada’s approach to drugs based on principles rooted in public health, scientific evidence, human rights, social inclusion and an approach that centers the expertise of people who use drugs in policy development.

“I am honoured to become a member of the Order of Canada and am encouraged that a commitment to the critical work of drug policy reform is seen as worthy of this award,” says MacPherson. “It tells me that we are moving closer to ending the punitive and destructive drug policies of the 1900s and that support for a human rights approach to people who use drugs is growing across all sectors of society.”  

MacPherson has been involved in drug policy development and implementation at every level, from local to global—since the 1990s when he helped develop a local municipal response to the overdose crisis and HIV epidemic among people who inject drugs in BC. This work has become more urgent in recent years due to an ongoing and worsening crisis of drug toxicity deaths from the unregulated illegal drug supply that is pervasive in Canada.  

MacPherson served as North America’s first drug policy coordinator at the City of Vancouver for a decade, drafting the city’s groundbreaking and award-winning Four Pillars Drug Strategy, which borrowed from European approaches to address drug problems based on harm reduction, drug treatment, prevention and enforcement. In this role, he engaged and collaborated with leaders from multiple sectors, including local government, health authorities, community-based organizations, members of the public, and organizations led by people who use drugs. Collectively, they advocated for systemic change rooted in public health principles while also calling for decriminalization and appropriate regulation of all (then) illegal psychoactive substances.

MacPherson’s work during this period contributed to the establishment of Insite, Canada’s first medically supervised consumption site for people who inject drugs. This initiative became the focus of national debate about the critical role of harm reduction approaches within a comprehensive approach to resolving health, social, economic and social justice issues related to substance use.

In 2010, MacPherson left the City of Vancouver and co-founded the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition (CDPC), a policy advocacy organization comprised of more than 50 organizations and 7,000 individuals from across the country. The group is committed to advancing and realizing drug policies that end the criminalization of people who use drugs, regulate currently illegal drugs, and establish a comprehensive response to the current drug toxicity crisis.

Under MacPherson’s direction, CDPC has worked with all levels of government, the United Nations agencies, and international organizations to foster dialogue on policy reform. He served as the organization’s executive director for 13 years, guiding policy engagement and advocacy projects, and directing CDPC’s research efforts before retiring in 2023.

“As I move on from my position at the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, I am excited by the many more people calling for drug policy reform in Canada and around the world than there were when I began this work,” he reflects. “But change is hard, and persistence is important. Transformational change is required if we are to make progress in adapting truly evidence informed drug policies that support people who use drugs, respect human rights and are based on principles of public health and social justice.”

Although MacPherson has retired, he sees this period of rest as an opportunity to gain perspective and reflect on the way forward. “In the fall I will look for ways to continue to support this work from a new vantage point and see where I land.”

The Order of Canada is not the first time MacPherson has been recognized for his critical contributions. His passion for policy work led to several awards including the Kaiser Foundation National Award of Excellence in Public Policy in Canada (2007) and the Richard Dennis Drug Peace Award for Outstanding Achievement in the field of drug policy reform (2009). He was also recognized with SFU’s Nora and Ted Sterling Prize in Support of Controversy in 2017 for his work and influence in public health, human rights and drug policy reform in Canada. In 2023 he was awarded the Public Health Hero award by the Canadian Public Health Association.

MacPherson will be traveling to Ottawa at a future date for the ceremony to install him as a member of the Order of Canada.