Anyone who has lost someone or someones to the toxic drug death crisis has their own stories of how systems failed. Anyone who has struggled and tried to get help has their own stories of how the help they needed did not exist and yet we are told it’s the only or barely an option

The conservative parties are weaponizing our deaths, our loss, our grief, our struggles for votes. It doesn’t matter what you’re political beliefs, majority know that the “recovery industry” is a grift, that treatment centres are a problem and “addiction medicine” doesn’t cut it

.Moms Stop The Harm (MSTH) spokesperson Petra Schulz (she/her) April 10, 2024.
'Recovery is what we hope for, but recovery has to be voluntary, evidence based and it has to be accountable'
Funding orgs not accountable to the public with little data on effectiveness is deadly.
edmonton.ctvnews.ca/video/c2901148…

Many in academia have watched ideology over evidence when it comes to substance use, trans kids, the climate crisis….
One can only hope this outright attack on academic freedom will lead not only to an outcry but action.
First she’ll control research next teaching.
#abpoli

I am still shocked by this and can't get over the ideological gall of it all. So I haven't said much but permit me a couple of comments.

The major mechanism that federal taxes are returned to the provinces in terms of research funding is what we call tri-council funding. /1

The Recovery War Room: Best practices if ideologically acceptable, but not necessarily best practices. albertapolitics.ca/2024/04/the-re… #ableg #abpoli #abhealth

#Ableg

The Federal Gov’t is making MASSIVE housing investments

🏗️ Build 3,900,000 New Homes
🚿 Funds for Water & Wastewater Systems
💰 Rental Construction Loans
🏠 Supports to End Homelessness

Smith wants to BLOCK ALL OF IT!

Alberta’s housing crisis is a DELIBERATE UCP choice

The Breakdown Forcing people into treatment offers the dual UCP goods of a) letting their base feel good about punishing 'dirty freeloading addicts', and b) provides another way to funnel public money into private for-profit hands. How do those w/ addictions feel about it? The UCP doesn't care

Not one to be left out of the “BC is just the super worst!” party tonight…

Dan Williams called BC’s approach to the opioid crisis the most extreme in the entire world.

Before clearly saying the reason why drugs should be criminalized is so people can be forced into treatment.

Countries that have decriminalized all drugs: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czechia, Italy, Netherlands, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland.

Uruguay never criminalized drugs to begin with.

Drug criminalization is extreme policy.

There has been a lot of media attention about substance use in hospitals lately.

BC's new policy is positive and will help to ensure safety for staff and patients - including people who use drugs. And we have several models in Canada to draw from to help implement them - a 🧵

The toxic drug crisis is a national emergency. We’re losing ~22 Canadians a day 😢

No province is doing things “well.”

So government officials from one province shouldn’t be trash-talking the efforts of another. But Alberta just won’t quit! WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?

Both Alberta’s…

How much have drug-poisoning deaths in Alberta really gone down?

“Last year had the highest number of non-pharmaceutical opioid deaths on record”

edmonton.ctvnews.ca/how-much-have-…

This ⬇️ is called *problem-solving*

Workers brought up an issue related to drug consumption in undesirable hospital areas.

Government acted quickly to address it with a proven solution that doesn't further marginalize anyone.

“When asked Thursday by The Globe and Mail whether this meant requiring overdose prevention services or designated-use spaces in every hospital in B.C., the minister replied: “That is the purpose of the effort.””

Can we talk implementation?

🧵

#bcpoli

theglobeandmail.com/canada/british…

The UCP gvt is keeping its commitment to reducing red tape by *checks notes* stopping any entity regulated by the province from entering into, renewing or extending a deal with Ottawa without approval from the province. theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta… #ableg #cdnpoli

The harm and trauma inflicted by the child “welfare” system:

“Of the 47 who passed away, 35 were Indigenous.”

#EveryChildMatters
#Ableg #abpoli

Of the 47 who passed away, 35 were Indigenous. We also continue to see alarmingly high numbers of young people dying of drug toxicity. Some young people we completed reviews for last year started using drugs as young as age 12, and we have seen even younger in the past. #AbLeg

We have provided an update to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly regarding our investigative reviews into the deaths and serious injuries of young people. In 2023-2024, we completed reviews for 48 young people (47 who passed away and one who was seriously injured). #AbLeg

Nursing practice includes harm reduction.