David Lucas, MSW
Dave Lucas (MSW) is a clinical advisor and social work educator committed to improving practices at the intersection of substance use, public health, and the criminal legal system. Currently, he is a senior advisor at Vital Strategies specializing in the areas of overdose prevention, drug policy, and problem-solving justice. Prior to this role, as a clinical advisor at the Center for Justice Innovation, Dave provided technical assistance to judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement on harm reduction and drug court best practices. Dave also spent a decade providing direct service, as an addiction therapist and treatment court clinical lead at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). He has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto, a course director at York University’s School of Social Work, and has published and presented on harm reduction, drug policy, best practices for court-supervised treatment across North America. Before relocating to New York in 2018, Dave spent his last years in Toronto volunteering at the Moss Park Overdose Prevention Site.