Giving opoids to addicts isn’t the answer

Last month B.C. pushed forward in its ideas of providing heroin to addicts under the guise of the COVID-19 crisis, unbeknownst to most Canadians.

(https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/safe-supplydrug-plan-covid-1.5511973)

“… She said regulated pharmaceutical alternatives, such as hydromorphone, will be provided to opioid dependents. Alcohol and cannabis will also be made available…”

B.C. has been pushing the feds to legalize heroin! It appears that it could happen!

The reason why the safe injection sites opened in 2003 in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side was because of heroin. Many have become addicted in Canada from legal opioids that were prescribed to them for pain at some point so how can it help? They have not learned that treating the addicts is the answer, not giving them more drugs.

Seventeen years ago they opened their safe injection sites to combat issues and they have failed miserably, with increases every year in the number of fatal overdoses, addicts, homeless, tent cities, crime and costs. The greater Vancouver DTES, with about 20,000 people, now spends over $360 million annually on about 300 social/housing services for the homeless, as tent cities grow as well! It is a failure!

Lethbridge has recently seen scathing reports by government that show the devastation to the city and, more importantly, the downtown core and business community after the SCS, with crime increase in that area almost 6,000 per cent; not a typo, 6,000 per cent. But guess what? We now see another service added to the building ... it is a pharmacy! As many know, trying to get “accurate” stats from the SCS is like asking for National Defence secrets and often we get releases of misinformation.

The raid several weeks ago by government auditors has not seen results released, due to the COVID19 crisis.

So, is this new pharmacy going to be supplying opioids to the addicts, paid by the taxpayer, snuck in under the COVID-19 crisis?

Next time a family member has a medical emergency and EMS is in Code Red and you have to wait 40 minutes because EMS is busy with overdoses, you can thank the SCS and Health Canada!

You are at home, isolated ... write your MPs, MLAs and city council and tell them to shut down this abomination that is costing 10 times the cost of treatment and will never end!

Barry Ewing

Lethbridge