3828 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

again i ask:  which jurisdiction has decimalized - with no insistence on treatment - and seen either a decrease in use or deaths?  what's our model?

[Nparker]

"decimalized" ?

[Victoria Watcher]

Cap Daily:

 

 

 

 

 

 

BC becomes first province to apply to decriminalize possession of illicit drugs

 

 

On Monday, the province announced it is seeking an exemption from Health Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to remove penalties for people who possess a small amount of illicit drugs for personal use. Since a public health emergency was declared in 2016, 7,700 British Columbians have died from overdoses. Advocates, like SOLID Outreach harm reduction manager Fred Cameron, have been adamant that criminalization further stigmatizes drug-users and pushes them into solitude, desperation, and death.

Cameron, who has been advocating for decriminalization for 25 years, says while this is long overdue, it is a huge step. But there are still some issues with the application. BC is seeking to establish a threshold allowing users to carry a cumulative 4.5g of illicit substances, which Cameron says is too low. This amount does not represent the real needs of many substance users, he says, or of people who live far from city centres, go out of town for multiple days, or who have mobility issues. Cameron says determining an allowable amount is difficult because it changes depending on the person, the substance, and how many substances a person is using.

“I do understand that they’re trying to control trafficking,” he said. “But by having a number that’s fixed at such a low number, they’re not targeting trafficking—that’s still keeping drug use criminalized.”

SOLID was involved in the Core Planning Table with users groups, police, and health authorities. But the finished application was sent to Health Canada without input from the organizations, Cameron said. Other organizations have also expressed concern about the application only applying to people aged 19+ and reliance on police to provide referrals to services.

In Victoria, there have been about 466 overdose deaths since 2016, 87 of which have happened in the first 7 months of this year. Between January and July, there was a 28% increase in overdoses in the province from the same period in 2020. Earlier this year, Capital Daily reported on the pandemic’s effects on the drug supply.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 04 November 2021 - 05:51 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Seattle Times:

 

 

 

‘Public health emergency’: King County on track to set record for deadly drug and alcohol overdoses in 2021

 

King County is on track to see the largest single-year increase in deaths linked to drug and alcohol overdoses in more than a decade. Over the past decade, overdose-related deaths in King County increased 118%, from 245 deaths in 2011 to 598 deaths in 2021 so far.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 November 2021 - 05:34 PM.

[kitty surprise]

Seattle Times:
 
 
 
‘Public health emergency’: King County on track to set record for deadly drug and alcohol overdoses in 2021
 
King County is on track to see the largest single-year increase in deaths linked to drug and alcohol overdoses in more than a decade. Over the past decade, overdose-related deaths in King County increased 118%, from 245 deaths in 2011 to 598 deaths in 2021 so far.

I always put my analyst hat on when I read stats like this.

It's no secret Seattle consistently attracts drug users; newcomers arrive daily.

Therefore absolute numbers of the drug user population is always increasing- offset only by the overdose deaths of said demo.

In other words, while there might be an 118% increase in absolute terms, I would like to know the per capita increase - if there is a per capita increase at all.

[Victoria Watcher]

"drug poisoning".  gotta love the left and their language twisting.

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/...614815644983299

 

 

 

[Nparker]

Poisoning is almost always an accidental occurrence. There is nothing accidental about addicts choosing to take drugs they know might kill them.

[Victoria Watcher]

News 1130:


B.C. breaks more sombre records for illicit drug deaths

The BC Coroners Service says 333 lives were lost to suspected illicit drug toxicity in August and September, bringing the total to 1,534 in the first nine months of this year.

September is the 12th consecutive month in which there were at least 150 deaths. An average of 170 British Columbians have died each month in 2021.

[A Girl is No one]

I guess we should give the addicts more money then. That seems to be the standard government reaction.

[Nparker]

I guess we should give the addicts more money then...

At the very least they need more drugs.

[Victoria Watcher]

Sounds like stigma is still a serious problem.

 

We need some local leaders, politicians, doctors, lawyers, personalities to talk up the benefits of drug addiction.

 

Can we get that Barenaked Ladies guy?  Charlie Sheen?  Rob Ford?  Any member of the Rolling Stones?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 09 November 2021 - 10:23 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Here we go with the language. Going to be “poisoning” from now on it looks like.

https://www.timescol...of-2021-4739462







More than 1,500 people died of illicit-drug poisonings in the first nine months of 2021, says the B.C. Coroners Service.

There were 333 deaths due to suspected drug overdoses in August and September 2021 — about 5.5 a day — for a total of 1,534 this year to date.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 09 November 2021 - 01:41 PM.

[On the Level]

More than 1,500 people died of illicit-drug poisonings in the first nine months of 2021, says the B.C. Coroners Service.
 

 

So are we saying people are taking drugs or poison now?  I don't think "poison" will help to destigmatize and normalize taking drugs.

[kitty surprise]

So are we saying people are taking drugs or poison now?  I don't think "poison" will help to destigmatize and normalize taking drugs.

 

The activists and anyone connected to the drug trade, will use the 'poisoning' phrasing in order to demand free safe supply.

 

Which will be sold on the streets for the 'good stuff'.

 

And dealers get off with conditions.

[Victoria Watcher]

Rebecca Billard has been battling opioid addiction for a few years, but said things began to turn around last month, after she received her first dose of a medication called Sublocade (its generic name is buprenorphine).

When someone stops taking opioids, they can experience severe withdrawal, which is something Sublocade, a relatively new treatment, helps manage.

Rather than taking a pill or a dose at a pharmacy every day, the medication is given through a monthly injection.

This has helped Billard focus on recovery and returning to her full-time job, while other treatments, such as Suboxone, made her sick and were difficult to afford.

_____________

"It was quite a letdown," Billard told CBC News. "I do feel like I've had to jump through some hoops and that I've done everything I can to comply and get the proper help. However, getting that news did cause me a great amount of anxiety and panic about my future."

Billard, who is 32, said she doesn't plan to have children and doesn't date men. She feels her chances of becoming pregnant are extremely low and doesn't want to switch to one of the birth control methods her doctor mentioned.


https://www.cbc.ca/n...ccess-1.6242932

She doesn’t plan to have kids. And she doesn’t date men.

Yet her chances of becoming pregnant she just deems as “extremely low”. Not zero, somehow. Now I suppose she could be raped, or some seed might get caught up in a wind gust and enter her clothing somehow.

Anyway. She seems to be coping with the stigma very well.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 10 November 2021 - 09:20 AM.

[Mike K.]

Richard Stanwick is resigning December 31. He says his focus will be overdoses and covid until then.

[Nparker]

Can't say he will be missed.

[Victoria Watcher]

That guy has zero sense of humour.

Bye.

[pontcanna]

He certainly came across as Chief of the Fun Police.

[pontcanna]

@vicpdcanada
·
We've been asked about a high risk situation that officers responded to at Douglas & Belleville this AM. A person suffered self-inflicted, life-threatening injuries from a weapon & the nature of injuries were such that immediate medical intervention was required. 
·
Despite the person physically resisting help, we did what was needed to provide aid, which included taking physical control of the person. 

The person was transported to hospital where they remain. Thank you to two nearby security guards who stepped in to a potentially dangerous situation to help without hesitation. Our thoughts are with this person & all involved.