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Originally Posted by blankall
I don't view drug addicts as sub-human. I also don't think giving them more drugs is the solution.
What proof do you have that safe supply reduces deaths? We've seen deaths grow significantly the last few years (almost triple since 2019). During that time BC has legalize personal use/possession and provides about 5,000 people a year with safe supply. I'm not seeing the results.
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https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrI...g1ZTM1OWFkYyJ9
The rates of death through the first nine months of 2024 are 8% lower than 2023, and less than the annual rates of death over the previous 3 years. We'll obviously need more data to prove that 2024 isn't an outlier, but that's still less people dead from overdoses, which is good.
Anyone who was expecting this to work right away had unreasonable expectations. These things take time.
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The biggest issue is that the whole safe supply program relies on the fact that people care about their own health more than getting as high as possible. If you give someone safe supply, what's to stop them from getting more drugs afterwards. What about the people who sell the safe supply drugs and use that money to buy cheaper and stronger drugs.
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Even if that were the case, and there's no evidence of widespread diversion, the net result is still safer drugs in circulation. If people are able to sell them, that means there's a market for them, which means people are still using them.
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Safe supply could work for somewhat functional addicts who are using heroin, or lesser opiates, long term but not looking to spiral into the depth of fentanyl. I'm not sure how big of a group those people are. That group would also seem somewhat amenable to actual treatment.
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Again, even if this is the case, that's still less addicts being exposed to fentanyl overall, which will continue to decrease the amount of overdose deaths.
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The current policy, overall, has created a culture of drug use in the DTES. Any actions that add to that culture or could suck more people into it should be reconsidered.
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What about this do you think is going to "suck more people into it?"
The DTES has had a culture of drug use going back for almost three decades. Do you honestly think people walk by, see what's going on down there, and say to themselves "Boy, that looks like a great time?"
I'd wager having it more out in the open, where people can see the results of addiction, is a greater deterrent than anything D.A.R.E. ever came up with.