Amanda Butler, Simon Fraser University

Research

Administrative Data Interviews Mixed Methods Prisons Qualitative Methods Quantitative Methods Substance Use Disorder Substance Use Treatment

Latest papers

The short-term impacts of the decriminalization of personal possession of select illegal drugs on drug possession criminal incidents and criminal cases in British Columbia, Canada (2013 to 2023).
The International journal on drug policy · 2026
Doubts and disconnection: Police reflections on drug decriminalization in British Columbia in the first year of implementation.
The International journal on drug policy · 2026 · first author
Estimating the number and percentage of children who experience parental incarceration in Canada using whole population administrative and vital statistics data
PLoS ONE · 2026

All 22 publications

Latest funding

Improving health and criminal justice outcomes through community, hope and healing: An evaluation of BC's prison based therapeutic community using a mixed methods research design
CIHR · 2024 · Nominated PI
$1,266,076
Collaborative development of research reporting guidelines for health RESearch involving People who arE inCarceraTed: The RESPECT Guidelines Project
CIHR · 2024 · Co-investigator
$49,800
Developing partnerships to investigate and address the processes and outcomes criminalization and incarceration in Canada
SSHRC · 2023 · Co-investigator
$133,936

All 4 grants and awards

22 publications.

01

The short-term impacts of the decriminalization of personal possession of select illegal drugs on drug possession criminal incidents and criminal cases in British Columbia, Canada (2013 to 2023).

Abdul SA, Wu E, Jiang H, Russell C, Ali F, Rehm J, Butler A, Elton-Marshall T, Henderson I, Gomes T, Greer A, Kinniburgh B, Le Foll B, Palis H, Patenaude S, Imtiaz S

The International journal on drug policy2026

DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2026.105261 PMID: 41985344

02

Doubts and disconnection: Police reflections on drug decriminalization in British Columbia in the first year of implementation.

Butler A, Ferencz S, Agnew-Pauley W, Russell C, Ali F, Greer A

The International journal on drug policy2026First author

DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2026.105211 PMID: 41740192

03

Estimating the number and percentage of children who experience parental incarceration in Canada using whole population administrative and vital statistics data

Kouyoumdjian FG, Paynter M, Knudsen EM, Croxford R, Bondy SJ, Jennings L, Russell N, Semeniuk R, Bentley-Wang C, Butler A

PLoS ONE20261 citations

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0344941

04

Incarceration, inclusion, and health equity: A global challenge

Kinner SA, Borschmann R, Butler A, Ramaswamy M, Wang EA, Kouyoumdjian F

Social Science and Medicine2026

DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119604

05

Impact of cannabis legalization on drug possession offences among people who experience incarceration in Ontario, Canada

Butler A, Croxford R, Owusu-Bempah A, Akbari H, Kouyoumdjian F

International Journal of Drug Policy2026First author

DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2026.105305

06

Methods and tools used to assess patient experience with healthcare services in prisons: a scoping review

McLeod KE, Hilditch A, Butler A, Bal R, Kouyoumdjian FG

International Journal for Quality in Health Care2026

DOI: 10.1093/intqhc/mzag005

07

Health conditions among women in prisons: a systematic review

McLeod KE, Wong KA, Rajaratnam S, Guyatt P, Di Pelino S, Zaki N, Akbari H, Kerrigan C, Jones R, Norris E

The Lancet Public Health202522 citations

DOI: 10.1016/s2468-2667(25)00092-1

08

COVID-19 impacts on decarceration for Indigenous, Black, and other racialized people in Ontario, Canada: an interrupted time series study

Owusu-Bempah A, Lamberti N, Croxford R, Osei B, Butler A, Martin RE, Jurgutis J, McLeod K, Paynter M, Sapers H

The Lancet Regional Health. Americas20253 citations

DOI: 10.1016/j.lana.2025.101088

09

Opioid toxicity deaths in Indigenous people who experienced incarceration in Ontario, Canada 2015–2020: a whole population retrospective cohort study

Butsang T, Owl N, Butler A, Sabourin H, Croxford R, Gislason L, Kouyoumdjian FG

The Lancet Regional Health. Americas20251 citations

DOI: 10.1016/j.lana.2024.100961

10

The decriminalization of illicit drugs in British Columbia: a national evaluation protocol.

Russell C, Ali F, Imtiaz S, Butler A, Greer A, Rehm J, Decriminalization Evaluation Research Group

BMC public health2024

DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-20336-9 PMID: 39425094

Improving health and criminal justice outcomes through community, hope and healing: An evaluation of BC's prison based therapeutic community using a mixed methods research design

Nominated PICIHR2024Project Grant

Principal investigators: Butler, Amanda L; Nicholls, Tonia L

Keywords: Administrative Data; Interviews; Mixed Methods; Prisons; Qualitative Methods; Quantitative Methods; Substance Use Disorder; Substance Use Treatment; Surveys; Therapeutic Communities

$1,266,076

Collaborative development of research reporting guidelines for health RESearch involving People who arE inCarceraTed: The RESPECT Guidelines Project

Co-investigatorCIHR2024Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Principal investigators: Kouyoumdjian, Fiona G

Keywords: Incarceration; Reporting

$49,800

Developing partnerships to investigate and address the processes and outcomes criminalization and incarceration in Canada

Co-investigatorSSHRC2023Partnership Development Grants

Principal investigators: Kish, Nyki

Keywords: Critical prison studies; community-engaged research; Participatory Action Research; criminalization; incarceration; oppression and marginalization; public policy; legislative change; lived experienced; mixed methods; arts-based; Knowledge Mobilization

$133,936

Estimating the number of children who experience parental incarceration and describing their health status using linked whole population data for five Canadian provinces: The CHIRP (Children with IncarceRated Parents) Study

Co-investigatorCIHR2022Operating Grant: Data Analysis Using Existing CDN Databases and Cohorts

Principal investigators: Kouyoumdjian, Fiona G; Paynter, Martha J

Keywords: Child Health; Incarceration; Reproductive Health

$74,988

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Criminology
Family Medicine
Social & Behavioural Health Sciences Division
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care
Social, Prevention and Health Policy Research
Department of Family and Community Medicine
Other

Co-authors at Simon Fraser University, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Fiona Kouyoumdjian

Family Medicine

10 shared papers, latest 2026

Alissa Greer

Criminology

5 shared papers, latest 2026

Farihah Ali

Social & Behavioural Health Sciences Division

3 shared papers, latest 2026

Martha Paynter

Faculty

2 shared papers, latest 2026

Tara Gomes

Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care

2 shared papers, latest 2026

Jessica Liauw

Obstetrics and Gynecology

2 shared papers, latest 2026

Tenzin Butsang

Faculty

2 shared papers, latest 2026

Tonia Nicholls

Criminology

1 shared papers, latest 2022

Tara Elton-Marshall

Epidemiology and Public Health

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Heather Palis

School of Population and Public Health

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Huan jiang

Biostatistics Division

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Bernard Le Foll

Department of Family and Community Medicine

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Hasina Samji

Faculty

1 shared papers, latest 2022

Hasina Samji

Health Sciences

1 shared papers, latest 2022

Tonia Nicholls

Psychiatry

1 shared papers, latest 2022

Jennifer Leason

Medical Anthropology

1 shared papers, latest 2026

Benedikt Fischer

Social, Prevention and Health Policy Research

1 shared papers, latest 2017

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their CIHR grant from 2024

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Administrative Data Dear Professor Butler, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "The short-term impacts of the decriminalization of personal possession of select illegal drugs on drug possession criminal incidents and criminal cases in British Columbia, Canada (2013 to 2023)." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your CIHR-funded project "Improving health and criminal justice outcomes through community, hope and healing: An evaluation of BC's prison based therapeutic community using a mixed methods research design" (2024), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]