B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Conservative Party interim leader from Vernon is calling for a robust, provincewide addictions treatment program.
Scott Anderson said the program would be paid for by existing taxes.
B次元官网网址淗arm reduction as a strategy should be viewed as the first step in a continuum of care that ends with active, abstinence-based recovery,B次元官网网址� said Anderson. B次元官网网址淭he current strategy of harm reduction as an end in itself, with half-hearted attempts to supply B次元官网网址渢reatmentB次元官网网址� for addicted people who both want it and are able to wait from 48 hours to two weeks to get help, is simply not working.B次元官网网址�
Anderson endorses the findings of B次元官网网址淪trategies to Strengthen Recovery in British Columbia: The Path Forward,B次元官网网址� by the BC Centre for Substance Abuse as a common sense approach to the problem. The study focuses on recovery, with abstinence as the end goal.
B次元官网网址淗aving dealt with addictions in both my family and almost daily as a municipal issue, it came as a real surprise to learn that the vast bulk of the provincial medical resources dedicated to addictions is devoted to harm reduction, with treatment relegated almost to the status of an afterthought, and usually entailing opioid replacement as an end in itself,B次元官网网址� said Anderson. B次元官网网址淎s the study suggests, itB次元官网网址檚 time for a new path forward.B次元官网网址�
Anderson said addictions expertsB次元官网网址� belief that passing out free needles, supplying safe injection sites, and encouraging so-called B次元官网网址渓ow barrierB次元官网网址� shelters (which allow active drug use) is B次元官网网址渘othing more than enabling if these policies are executed in the absence of a more comprehensive and robust recovery-based treatment regime.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 as if weB次元官网网址檙e trying to cure cigarette smoking by handing out cigarette holders and ashtrays,B次元官网网址� said Anderson.
B次元官网网址淲e can keep taking the easy B次元官网网址� and frankly cheapest B次元官网网址� way out by focusing on harm reduction and continue ignoring the actual issue. But there is a better way and in the long run, itB次元官网网址檒l save both money and heartbreak for the families involved.B次元官网网址�
The BC Conservative Party supports continuing funding for harm reduction efforts, but only within the context of a comprehensive strategy aimed at full recovery based on abstinence.
B次元官网网址淲hat weB次元官网网址檝e been doing isnB次元官网网址檛 working,B次元官网网址� said Anderson. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 time to try something different.B次元官网网址�
The BC Conservatives propose that funding is drawn from taxes on the sales of tobacco, gambling, alcohol, and a new tax on cannabis. The party suggests engaging the private sector by funding it through a regulated grant system.
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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