Benjamin Perrin May 6 2023 - From Crime & Punishment to a Compassionate & Evidence Based Approach Towards Substance Use.

I am sitting here in the sunshine this morning looking at the flowers and listening to the birds chirping, the wind chimes tinkling, the mourning dove calling and feeling….nothing but so much residual grief and heavy sadness from news received 2 days ago.

There is a support group in the States called The Addict’s Mom. I suppose I meet the criteria for membership - my daughter is one of thousands who have died of fentanyl poisoning during the current opioid crisis - but I would never feel comfortable joining an organisation with this name. My daughter dealt with addiction at times. Her drug use (illegal and prescribed) was enmeshed with her debilitating mental illness. I would never call her The Addict, nor would I identify myself as The Addict’s Mom. Would we disparagingly call someone The Diabetic? The Epileptic? The Lyme Diseased?

Decriminalization can be a confusing concept. In British Columbia, it became an exemption on January 31, 2023 for a three year test period; the only province to receive it from the Federal Government.

On April 14, 2016 British Columbia declared a public health emergency in response drug poisoning deaths. Since that time, the unregulated drug supply has become more toxic and more unpredictable.

And since that time, at least 11,000 people in British Columbia have died.