Lethbridge MDS slam UCP addiction policy
Lethbridge physicians say the provincial government's approach to addiction is “foolish, flawed and coercive,” in response to an open letter by Alberta's minister in charge of mental health and addictions that condemned an unsanctioned overdose prevention site in the southern city.
The pop-up supervised consumption service began operation in late September following the release of a provincial report that detailed record-high overdoses in the province and spiking fentanyl-related deaths in Lethbridge.
Since then, the Lethbridge Overdose Prevention Society (LOPS), which operates the tent, has been ticketed, surrounded by law enforcement and protested by community members.
Jason Luan, Alberta's associate minister of mental health and addictions, has been vocally against the service and wrote an open letter to the community in the Lethbridge Herald saying LOPS is creating “chaos, confusion” and using vulnerable residents as a “political tool.”
A group of Lethbridge medical professionals have responded in a rebuttal letter, released Thursday, saying Luan is “misguiding the public” and going against long-standing evidence.
“The Minister's approach to the disease of addiction is foolish, flawed, and coercive,” reads the open letter, written by Lethbridge physician Dr. Susan Adelmann and signed by other experts in the area.
“Foolish because it ignores the evidence for harm reduction beyond only naloxone distribution and it fails to address root causes of addictions. Flawed since it doesn't deliver services that are acceptable and effective for a large percentage of the people needing them (and) coercive because it makes essential medical care and treatment contingent on sobriety.”
Lethbridge used to be home to North America's busiest supervised consumption site, operated by the AIDS Outreach Community Harm Reduction Education Support Society (ARCHES).
The site closed permanently in August after provincial funding was stripped following allegations of financial misconduct by ARCHES. An audit found more than $1.6 million in unaccounted funds and other “misappropriated” public money.
ARCHES was replaced by a mobile overdose prevention site, which operates 20 hours per day and can accommodate three clients, according to the province. The former site was open 24/7 and had 13 injection booths and two inhalation rooms.
Luan said in his open letter the mobile site is an “adequate” support, but critics disagree.
Adelmann noted long wait times, no waiting area and a judgmental atmosphere have turned patients away from the government-run site, problems the province denies.
In his open letter, Luan touted government spending on treatment, detox and recovery programs, while criticizing harm-reduction services. He said the Lethbridge supervised drug-use site “was the cause of many issues in the community.”
Lethbridge physicians who signed the recent letter said that isn't true. They said when the ARCHES site was operational there were fewer needles on the ground and public injections. Complaints by Lethbridge citizens were focused on “the shift in location,” which made more visible “aspects of poverty, addiction, and homelessness.”
The rebuttal letter went on to say the government's focus denies Albertans standard medical care and goes against guiding principles in health care. It could also lead to a strain on the health-care system, the spread of infection and increased overdoses and death to an already vulnerable community.
In a statement on Thursday, Luan said he “appreciates the discourse” brought forward by local physicians but said the government listened to 19,000 Albertans
on the issue, referencing the provincial supervised consumption services report that detailed a “system of chaos.”
“We have taken a comprehensive approach in Lethbridge,” said Luan. “The mobile overdose prevention site is only one part of that. We have announced $11 million to build 42 new housing units in Lethbridge, expanded drug treatment courts and funding for the (Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team).”
He said the government is working with the city and key stakeholders on “long-term strategies,” which includes a permanent overdose prevention site.
Scientists and academics across the country have asked the government to retract the aforementioned report, calling into question its validity in reference to its scope of review, data collection and other
methodological elements.
Adelmann also said Indigenous people are disproportionately affected in southern Alberta. She said the government needs to acknowledge how historical trauma plays a role in the crisis and consider traditional healing in their response.
“If this Government insists on fighting the (failed) war on drugs by using an approach that is not supported in the research and runs contrary to medical practice and ethics, then they need to consider us defectors from the army,” Adelmann wrote.
“With or without this government, we will continue to respect the principles of medical ethics that existed well before the current UCP regime and will continue to exist long after political careers are over. We will continue to do no harm.”