Let’s end the stigma of substance abuse

We need your help, Dr. Bonnie Henry. Every day in British Columbia, people travel to liquor stores and dispensaries to purchase and consume recreational drugs. In fact, British Columbians enjoy some of the finest products in the world that are produced locally by skilled craftsmen. Our wines regularly win international awards for quality.

If wine drinkers were to suddenly start dying at the rate of over five per day on average, we would not be discussing an overdose crisis in the wine industry. We would not be diverting tremendous resources to our medical services, distributing overdose prevention kits and having our trauma services intervene daily in the lives of hundreds of people who were affected by tainted wine.

The BC Coroners Service shows that from 2000 to 2010, about 200 British Columbians’ overdosed annually. The number of overdose deaths for the month of July 2020 alone was announced as 175. It is misleading to assume we are in an addiction crisis when there is no evidence to support an increase in rates of people who suffer from the disease of addictions. Massive amounts of resources are being used to treat what is essentially a supply problem.

This could easily be corrected by providing the same quality of products that other British Columbians’ experience. The moral decisions of what or how substances are used is not something we need to debate today. We need to reduce the stigma by helping people who truly suffer from this disease. Another 875 people could die by the end of the year if we do not respond immediately.

The board of directors for Pathways Addictions Resource Society believe we have world-class staff providing services for people seeking help with addictions and have served the community for almost 50 years. Our Intensive Coordinated Care Opioid Navigator program is having a major impact in the community with serving over 100 opioid use disorder clients with zero overdoses.

We are trying to expand our services and