I’m Annoyed – Why Don’t People Learn Safe Supply Facts?
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Today's Learning Moment 07-10-23 – I’m Annoyed – Why Don’t People Learn Safe Supply Facts?
Written by and for people with Lived Experience - Port Alberni Community Action
Team - Families Helping Families.
An Opinion/Editorial, with Science, Evidence-Based Resources to Back It Up.
I’m a little annoyed this morning. Last night I watched a TicTok video. In that
video, a young woman showed a short clip of the Prime Minister talking about
safe supply. Then she went on to say that she didn’t have any idea about the science
of safe supply. She also declared herself as no medical expert. However, she
then said that she didn’t believe that the government should give drugs to
people with addictions.
In the moment I flipped from annoyance to laughter. I mean her comments were
frankly ludicrous. We’ve been providing drugs for people with addictions for
decades. Now you are wondering, what is he talking about?
Frankly, tobacco and alcohol are by far bigger health problems in this country than unregulated drugs and we can prove it with science-based statistics.
Besides the obvious of what would make someone comment on something they clearly said they know nothing about, her rhetoric was disturbing. It was clear that her position was wholly based on bias gained from her past and had set in her mind an unwavering opinion. It was also evident that none of the beliefs she was spouting were founded on evidence-based facts.
The most important part about this video is that she assumes that we’re going to willy-nilly start distributing drugs to anyone who wants them. Nowhere has Mr Trudeau or his government or any other health agency in this country said that we’re going to just start giving drugs to anyone. We are not going to see fentanyl/heroin or any other of those classes of drugs on a pharmacy shelf right beside nicotine patches and cough syrups. I just don't see that happening anytime soon, if ever.
The concept is to regulate substances and then distribute or disperse those substances through medical and regulated supply via medical professionals (experts) to address health conditions caused by substance disorders.
A huge problem is that many others will watch her video. That in itself is an enormous dilemma for those of us who fight for drug policy reform. Frankly, people with no knowledge and touting bad facts or positions that are not backed up by scientific research have become huge influencers through social media. We could certainly get into the discussion of whether social media is good or bad in our society. The facts are social media is now part of life and it’s here to stay. What is more important to consider is how will we change the perception of the majority of Canadians in our country around drug policy reform.
Last week, I was fortunate enough to sit in a meeting with the Federal Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, the Honourable Carolyn Bennett. One of the most interesting comments that Minister Bennett made was that she felt that one of the biggest challenges we face is changing the perceptions of Canadians around people who use substances in Canada and the perceptions the rest of us have about drugs that are currently unregulated. I couldn’t agree with her more! She did not propose a solution. What she did do is ask the broader audience in the room what ideas we had. Frankly, at that moment, we were all stumped. Solutions eluded us. It’s that complex of a problem.
In simple terms, we could all say that education and communication are part of changing drug policy perceptions. I’m sure that’s true. However, the implementation is by far more complex and that strategy needs to take into consideration all of the new channels that exist in the world today including social media. If we have any hope of getting the majority of Canadians on board we have to have a consistent message, it has to be couched in science-based evidence and it has to be relevant and simple and easy to state.
So to get back to what would drive this young woman’s perceptions. Clearly, she has a history of substances. She even states that she has in the past used cocaine, ecstasy, MDA, Special K, as well as a host of other substances. That certainly makes her an expert in using drugs but it does not make her an expert in drug policy or what we need to solve the poisoned drug crisis. I appreciate her peer-driven lens. What I don’t appreciate is her ignorance of expert knowledge nor her unbelievable willingness to comment on what she herself declares she knows nothing about.
I believe our ideas of drugs come from over 100 years of declaring all those unregulated drugs illegal. That perception alone and the criminality that we’ve attached to unregulated drugs drives the average Canadian to believe that in some way these drugs are insidious and horrible. It also sets up the idea in the minds of the general public that people who use these substances are morally corrupt. Not only are they morally corrupt but there’s also the additional belief people who use substances are weak-willed. None of that is based on evidence-based science. If we start anywhere, it needs to be educating people that all that history, prohibition and criminalization was wrong.
Do we have those same beliefs for people who have alcohol or tobacco addictions? We need to ask ourselves why beliefs differ between alcohol or tobacco and these other substances that we’ve declared unregulated or illicit. Two are considered health conditions by almost all Canadians, even though we ALL know that using them can lead to horrible deaths. However, we still make them available. Can you imagine the uproar if we said you’re going to have to get a prescription from your doctor to use alcohol, tobacco or cannabis?
Yet that’s clearly the model that is most likely if we decide to make opiates a regulated substance. In other words, people will source it through the health system —not on the shelf of a corner store.
So you have to wonder where these ridiculous ideas come from that we see on memes or social media video feeds. I mean the ones where people are saying illicit drugs are going to be made available to anyone, anywhere. Additionally, we see memes that claim the idea that drugs are being given to people with addiction for free when people with cancer or diabetes have to pay for their chemotherapy or insulin. In simple terms, it just shows how little understanding people have of how our Pharmacare system works in Canada. In conspiracy terms, you have to wonder about the motivation behind these ideas.
From now on, when we see information on the poison drug crisis we have to ask ourselves what is behind this information, who is putting it forward, what are their motivations and most importantly, is there research and science evidence-based knowledge to back up their point of view? Also, we need to call out misinformation when we come across it.
If you read this far I’m going to say clearly that this is an opinion piece/editorial. Even so, unlike the young woman that I refer to at the beginning of this piece, I am providing resource links that are science-based to back up my opinions. Read the research —then make up your mind.
I hope that the information in this short article encourages you to dig deeper to learn and educate yourself. The poison drug crisis in our country has reached unbelievable proportions and it’s up to every Canadian to make sure they understand the complexities of what we face. Otherwise, we’ll just continue to accumulate a horrendous death toll from the crisis. Don’t be lulled into believing this doesn't affect every single one of us. At the very least, your tax dollars will be used to find solutions. At worst, it will come knocking at your door and take you or someone you love.
The solutions are incredibly multifaceted and intricate. Certainly, a regulated supply would be helpful, however, it won’t solve everything. We have unbelievably difficult social factors that also contribute to the crisis and we have to find solutions to those challenges and implement them as well.
Author: Editor, Learning Moments.
Note: We may use words or phrases in our articles that are not first person, or the latest best-in-practice language. Sometimes we will use older, non-informed jargon. to clarify and inform people who are learning the new non-stigmatizing language. (linking old language usage to new terms) You can tell when you run into these old or non-inclusive words or phrases. They will be in quotation marks - eg old word “addiction” – When we introduce new inclusive language, words or phrases, they will be in Parenthesis - eg (people with substance disorders).
Families Helping Families is an initiative of the Port Alberni Community Action Team. We regularly send out "Learning Moment" articles to help folks understand substance disorders or concurrent disorders. Knowledge is vital in understanding these disorders of our family members. You may copy, distribute or share our articles as long as you retain the attribution. Add yourself to our distribution list by dropping us a note at - albernihelp@gmail.com
Resources:
Health Quality BC - Safer or Regulated Supply Tool Kit - https://healthqualitybc.ca/improve-care/substance-use/community-action-teams-knowledge-exchange/cat-safer-supply-project-toolkit/cat-safer-supply-project-toolkit-download/
1. Drug Policy and the War on Illegal Drugs – Social Problems (https://open.lib.umn.edu/socialproblems/chapter/7-5-drug-policy-and-the-war-on-illegal-drugs/)
2. Explaining Drug Use – Social Problems - University of Minnesota (https://open.lib.umn.edu/socialproblems/chapter/7-4-explaining-drug-use/)
3. The Iron Law Of Prohibition – Wikipedia
The iron law of prohibition is a term coined by Richard Cowan in 1986 which posits that as law enforcement becomes more intense, the potency of prohibited substances increases. Cowan put it this way: "the harder the enforcement, the harder the drugs."
4. Today's fentanyl crisis: Prohibition's Iron Law, revisited
Under the Iron Law of Prohibition, efforts to interrupt and suppress the illicit drug supply produce economic and logistical pressures favouring ever-more ...
5. A safer drug supply: a pragmatic and ethical response to the overdose crisis
Tyndall M. A safer drug supply: a pragmatic and ethical response to the overdose crisis. CMAJ. 2020 Aug 24;192(34):E986–7. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.201618. PMCID: PMC7840515.
6. Safer Supply – The Government of Canada
7. The Ontario HIV Treatment Network – Possible Advantages to Safer Supply
8. Vancouver’s Drug Dispensing Machines – How They Work
9. Switzerland - In addition to Social Initiatives, a Real Safe Supply Trial https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2019/01/28/switzerland-fights-heroin-with-heroin/
10. Decriminalizing Drugs in Switzerland - https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/focus-page-drugs-policy_how-far-is-switzerland-willing-to-go-when-it-comes-to-decriminalising-drugs-/45810320
11. Vending Machines Dispense Safe Drugs In Canada https://mysafe.org/2021/04/vice-a-vending-machine-in-canada-is-dispensing-a-drug-twice-as-strong-as-heroin/
12. Safe Supply Begins Perscribing Take Home Fentanyl In Vancouver https://www.bccsu.ca/blog/news/vancouver-safe-supply-program-begins-prescribing-take-home-fentanyl/
13. Portugal Decriminalizes https://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/portugal-heroin-decriminalization/
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