My wife occasionally teaches at Bow Valley College. I walked from my office to meet her after work today, and it’s disheartening to see the current state of the area. Today I witnessed a few people openly using drugs, and others who were unconscious. My wife told me that Bow Valley students can only enter at one set of doors for security reasons.

It might be time for some radical approaches to the issue. Something like a universal guaranteed income in exchange for participation in drug and addictions counseling.
 
Last edited:
Disheartening indeed. The area seems worse than it did 10 years ago when EV development was in its infancy and on the rise. If anyone can find a good solution to substance abuse they'll be an instant hero, not just for Calgary, but for so many other cities as well.
 
adamyyc said:
Something like a universal guaranteed income in exchange for participation in drug and addictions counseling.
Click to expand...
Frankly, as discussed at length elsewhere, this is not enough of an incentive for most of those who use drugs to the point of becoming homeless. Because addiction isn't rational. It sucks. But we have to design programs that address the reality of the problem, not the problem we hope existed.
 
Last edited:
Surrealplaces said:
Disheartening indeed. The area seems worse than it did 10 years ago when EV development was in it's infancy and on the rise. If anyone can find a good solution to substance abuse they'll be an instant hero, not just for Calgary, but for so many other cities as well.
Click to expand...
Meth and designer drugs to mimic meth; and oxy-cotin and more potent drugs to mimic oxy, are a mix our morals don't allow us to treat at scale.

Here is a story about a person who uses drugs. Stable, regular doses, of an actual reliable drug enabled her to stabilize her life. She now attends university despite everything.
calgaryherald.com

Judge grants woman interim injunction for exemption from Alberta opioid restrictions

A judge granted an interim injunction to a Calgary woman Thursday that allows her to continue taking a potent opioid three times a day.
calgaryherald.com calgaryherald.com

Can someone tell me why we shouldn't offer treatment similar to this to 100 or 500 or 1000 people who use drugs in our city?
 
badc0ffee said:
Isn't that what methadone is supposed to be for?
Click to expand...
Different tools. It isn't a one sized fits all. If it was, why are we in a crisis at all? It may have worked well with heroin, but as potency increased, may be less effective.

Also, if we're fine with methadone, what is wrong with a similar system with oxy?
 
Last edited:
It's not one size fits all, obviously. Maintenance treatment like methadone doesn't work for everyone or even most addicts. This seems like it would help that same subset of addicts, but with more risk (you can hoard it and resell it, or get high and maybe OD and/or make your tolerance worse, unlike with methadone). Would be nice if the article actually went in to any detail at all about this.
 
Last edited:
We're worried deploying potential treatments will kill people so instead we will let them die.

Anyways, here is some news coverage of a system https://filtermag.org/safe-supply-vending-machines/ and without much work should be able to find the CIHR researchers who supported and monitored the work in Vancouver and Ottawa (they were also on As It Happens at least once).
 
darwink said:
Can someone tell me why we shouldn't offer treatment similar to this to 100 or 500 or 1000 people who use drugs in our city?
Click to expand...
Without being an expert on substance abuse, I would say one of the issues is that not all addicts fall under the same situation and treatment plans work differently for different people maybe this solution only works on a small percentage. It would be interesting to see the results of this approach in other cities. But to answer the question, they should at least be trying this with 100 or more people as a starting point.

It's sad that so much of this falls on the municipality to deal with. There has been discussion on how the province needs to take more of a role in solving the issue, but I also think it would be good for the Feds to take a more active role. Even if they put all their resources and experimenting into one city.
 
Fortunately the province is stepping up with resources.

Unfortunately, they're deploying a one size fits all system based on abstinence recovery. It will help a subset of people stabilize their lives don't get me wrong, and a smaller subset recover sustainably (beyond 5 years). But options for those who can't? I'd much rather someone resume drug use at year two onto safe supply with much reduced risk of overdose and the ability to maintain their current living arrangements than return eventually to the street and all the costs that imposes on society, in money, morals, and social disorder.
 
The site is being cleared. (Priestly is getting a lot of jobs recently!)

IMG_4849.jpeg
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top