BC to become first province with prescribed safe supply

[DFO]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

But that’s my whole point. What law-abiding, safety-conscious, respectable, middle-class citizens would do is not what heavy drug users and addicts choose to do. Making policy based on what we would do in their situation is foolish. I would choose the safe opioid option. But addicts will choose whichever gets them most wasted. As Street Pharmacist warns, that may well mean pocketing the safe, government-issued stuff, selling it, then buying something much more potent (and dangerous) off the street.

Trying to conflate this opioid conversation with weed isn't useful though. It's really apples and oranges.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

I didn’t call legalization a failure. I supported it then and I support it now. Though it certainly has been a disappointment by all of the metrics touted at the outset, from the size of the black market to government revenues to the sales figures and valuations of the commercial players. Anyone who has followed the issue at all recognizes that.



The assumptions many Canadians (and most posters on this forum - go back and check) made about the black market for pot going away proved wrong. And assumptions we make about safe supply may prove wrong as well, and for similar reasons: Because users don’t behave the way we expect them to behave, and the black market is incredibly entrenched and efficient.

Actually the legal weed industry is slowly killing the black market, it has massively reduced the money anyone can make from weed, the real problem for legal weed is not taxes, its the reduced 'quality' of the product due to lack of freshness, with the delivary option coming in in BC I see dealers getting all but shut out in the next decade

[blankall]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

But that’s my whole point. What law-abiding, safety-conscious, respectable, middle-class citizens would do is not what heavy drug users and addicts choose to do. Making policy based on what we would do in their situation is foolish. I would choose the safe opioid option. But addicts will choose whichever gets them most wasted. As Street Pharmacist warns, that may well mean pocketing the safe, government-issued stuff, selling it, then buying something much more potent (and dangerous) off the street.

I don't disagree. As other posters have said, comparing marijuana and hard drugs isn't apt. To quote Bob Sagat in Half Baked:

[d_phaneuf]

If we were going to pilot anything, I wish we just tried to fully decriminalize like portugal

Half measures rarely work, if the end goal is to save lives it's likely the most effective

I know there has been free available testing for people who want to make sure their supply doesnt contain fentanyl, and I'm sure its saved some lives, but the numbers are still way too high for it to be effective enough

I'm guessing being on a us border makes it a bigger issue though