Provincial funding only the first step in opioid battle
On Friday the provincial government announced substantial funding to help combat the drug crisis that has swept the country and hit the prairies particularly hard.
A new, supportive housing complex will be constructed to provide accommodations for 42 vulnerable people. The intent is to find housing for many of the at-risk population the public sees on the streets and the police deal with on a regular basis. They need somewhere to call home otherwise it is continual displacement with the streets being the default. This is a step in the right direction.
The work that our Police And Crisis Team (PACT) already does attempts to identify such individuals and connect them with the supports and services they need. In doing so we have been able to reduce the number of calls for police, EMS, fire, or trips to the emergency room one individual creates.
But one of the gaps is consistently the lack of permanent housing. While the new housing complex is a step in the right direction, we all need to manage our expectations because it will take time for the announcement to transition into a bricks and mortar facility.
There was also the announcement of funds dedicated to an additional 30 beds in Lethbridge for intoxicated persons to get sober and clean. This too is a step in the right direction. My hope is the bureaucracy the worker bees might face in turning the funds into action does not get in the way. There have been several times over my career where something was intended for a good and logical purpose but the minutiae got in the way of practical application.
As an example, there was a time in some jurisdictions when hospitals or detention centres would take control and care for an intoxicated person who was a danger to themselves or others. It seemed logical and there were provisions in place to take such individuals to facilities with medical professionals on staff who were better equipped to manage the situation. But then the admission questions would start. How much did you have to drink? Where were you drinking? When did you start drinking? And the big one — what were you drinking? The second the person responded with something other than beer, wine or liquor and told the staff that they had consumed mouthwash, rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer, the offer to take care of the person ended and they were back in police custody in a holding cell.
It was this type of flawed logic that never made sense to me. The person admitted they drank something other than a commercially produced alcohol product and somehow it made more sense for the police — not medical staff — to detain them. I am hopeful the 30 additional intox beds will make a longterm difference but I have a subconscious fear that the bureaucracy will result in tunnel vision and focus on opioids alone. In doing so there is the potential that such beds and services will fail to address those battling addiction to meth, heroin and whatever the next drug will be to hit the prairies.
I have repeatedly said our opioid issues are being surpassed by meth. The actions of people on meth are far different and can be perceived as scary by the public more so than the opioid addict. Any efforts to tackle the drug crisis must be all encompassing enough to serve addicts on any drug — not one specific drug.
A few weeks ago I wrote about the need for provincial legislation that will allow non-law enforcement personnel to detain people battling an addiction. I know the adage that addicts will not change until they decide they want to change, but I also know an addict’s need for drugs typically outweighs their desire to get clean and therefore an external intervention is necessary.
Very much like we have provincial legislation that allows the police, family and courts to protect vulnerable children, neglected seniors, people suffering from diminished mental capacities or those suffering from a mental-health episode, we need provincial legislation that will facilitate the police, family or courts to get an addict to a facility like the new intox beds, where they can be lawfully detained by medical professionals, mental-health professionals and addiction professionals. Without a legislative mechanism for an attempt at breaking the cycle there is too much potential for the addict to walk away and remain trapped.
My experience during my career is that announcements like we heard on Friday will take a couple of years to transition into facilities that are open for business. I applaud this announcement and it will be part of ‘the long game’ and necessary wrap-around-services to tackle addiction. But before the facilities are open there has to be a concentrated effort by the government to create provincial legislation to allow for a bona fide intervention by police, family or the courts and allow for the addict to be lawfully detained in the care of the professionals who can work with them and make a real attempt at breaking the cycle of addiction.