CRISM is a national network of researchers, service providers, policy makers and people with lived experience of substance use. CRISM’s overall objective is to translate evidence-based interventions for substance use into clinical practice, community-based prevention, harm reduction, and health system changes. Our intent is to support the creation of more effective, personal, and adoptable intervention programs and services.

Substance use disorders are pressing and complex health issues. In order to be effective, interventions requires evidence-based approaches, an understanding of the biological, psychosocial and social factors and an acknowledgement of the important impact of cultural, societal, and policy contexts. Many intervention modalities exist and are known to have excellent results, yet they have not been widely implemented.

To address these translation and implementation gaps, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), through its Institute for Neurosciences, Mental Health, and Addiction (INMHA), developed the Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Matters (CRISM) (previously known as the Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse). CRISM was designed to facilitate communication and collaboration across the pillars of addiction service providers, researchers, policy-makers, patients, and people who use substances.  CRISM is a network that consists of five regional teams (referred to as Nodes), located in BC, the Prairies, Ontario, Québec, and the Atlantic region.