Canada's OD capital

[whatwhat]

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same old crap from your type on here , always trying to deflect the blame on someone else,never taking responsibility for there own actions, until you types stop minimizing ,you people are part of the problem not the solution

Jeez truth, why are you so obsessed me??!

My post was in response to the comment about making having a needle on your person illegal. That is all. Not trying to deflect, or blame others. Try reading to comprehend next time instead of needing to attack me.

As well, your continuing to try and belittle my morals, ethics, career, volunteer work etc is humourous. For some reason you think your uneducated opinion is fact, it's sad. Hopefully coming on to castanet to have people agree with you instead of actually doing something in the real world fuels your ego in the way you are looking for. Keyboard warriors unite

[the truth]

we all have a sad story to tell me included ,ya me too can you believe it .man up or check out, i had to man up at an early age, safe bet if we stopped enabling so many people as we do now there would be waaaaaaaaay less junkies, so yes all you enablers are part of the problem

actualy it is people like you who live in a fantasy that everything is black and white. facts are your little drug war did nothing except waste money that should have been better spent . the folks trying to properly deal with the problem are not the enablers , you are by being ignorant of the solutions , you are by thinking your somehow above anyone . facts are the right moves are being implemented and theres nothing you can do about it except watch.

your calling me black and white says the most racist person on these forums

[Loki2u]

For anyone interested in learning more about some proposed solutions or asking questions: https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/2 ... n-on-drugs

[the truth]

For anyone interested in learning more about some proposed solutions or asking questions: https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/2 ... n-on-drugs

loki you work in this field ,question---are there just more people than ever using drugs and then becoming addicts because of it or something else ?

[the truth]

https://www.castanet.net/news/Vernon/20 ... -near-park never ends with these junkies

[Loki2u]

loki you work in this field ,question---are there just more people than ever using drugs and then becoming addicts because of it or something else ?

It would be hard to give you a direct answer to this question Truth as there are multiple factors involved, but I'll add a couple of things to consider.

Drug use is on the rise, but not significantly. What is significantly on the rise is overdose deaths. And I mean significantly! BC is on trend to reach over 1500 deaths this year alone. To provide some context, the average number of annual overdose deaths from 2001-2010 was just over 200.

The deaths is the reason for all the panic. It is because of the staggeringly high deaths that this is even being discussed so prevalently in the first place. Which is a good thing!

Something needs to be done. There is no denying that from either side whether you agree with the situation or not.

Going back to your original question, short answer is no. more people than ever are not trying the drugs and then getting addicted to it. There is far more to it than that. To explain it would involve going into the whole bio/psycho/social model which I have no intention to get into at this moment.

Here is the thing some people don't quite seem to understand. It is not necessarily drugs themselves that are addictive. If that was the case, anybody who tried them would become addicted-but they don't. The overwhelming majority of the population can be prescribed pain meds from their doctor, use them as directed and come off of them without any issues and many without even experiencing withdrawl symptoms-let alone relapse and dependency.

There are millions who can safely consume alcohol without becoming alcoholics. What it comes down to is why, for example, does it affect this person in a different way then others? That is where the bio/psycho/social model comes into play. As was mentioned on one of these threads earlier....some people (kids specifically) are born and raised without a fighting chance. Neglect, abuse (both physical and sexual), trauma on a variety of levels are all many reasons to help explain the causes of addiction, but then still...... predisposed does not equal pre-determined.

Some people are able to suck it up (as you've suggested in the past) and make something of their lives and for others its too late and experimenting with substances is the only thing that numbs the pain. Throw in a brain that is predisposed to some of these environmental factors and its not a matter of how.....but when.

I'm being very simplistic and general and for that I apologize, but this is a forum after all and not peer reviewed paper

But I'll throw this out there: I can totally understand your (and the majorities) anger and frustrations because I share them too!

I am not a bleeding heart and I also can't stand to see the path of destruction "junkies" leave behind to themselves, their community and their families. It's terrible and it appears to be getting worse. In my opinion, harm reduction is not the solution, it's a band-aid solution designed for one thing at this point in time: to stop the bleeding.

We are at epidemic levels of overdose deaths, and I'm not sure there is any one specific solution, but being in crisis mode has people racing to figure one out. What is being proposed at government levels appears to be the best ideas so far, but I agree it is hard to wrap your mind around it. As mentioned earlier....something needs to be done, and unfortunately the past war on drugs has been an epic failure which is why we are where we are at now.

Believe me, I want drug dealers locked up as well. I also believe that "junkies" need to be accountable for their actions. I don't want to walk around in the park either and step on needles. I don't want homeless people harassing me when I walk around town either. I'm on board with all of you guys and your frustrations.....but here is the difference of where I am coming from:

I am in the industry to help those who want help, and ONLY those who want help. And believe me there are lots! If anything, this crisis has opened alot of addicts mind who don't want to die, so we are seeing an influx in those seeking treatment currently. Make no mistake, I'm not out there advocating for "enabling homeless junkies." I don't go out on the street and recruit the unwilling to come and get treatment. All of my clients come here on their own accord.

There ARE people out there that want help-and that is my job to help them. To help those who WANT it. To be frank, those tend to be the only people who make strides forward in their recovery-those who want help. Not necessarily those who need it. There are thousands who need the help, but to overcome their battle with addiction-they must want it for themselves and until they do, I am powerless over them to do anything about it.

The other thing I'd like to touch on is the argument that someone made about "those in the industry don't want to see a solution as they would be out of a job." This is completely ridiculous and couldn't be further from the truth. The majority of people in social work, do it because they have a passion for helping others. Believe me, I have a masters degree and can find much better paying jobs out there that I'm qualified for than I currently have. I do what I do because I too have been affected by chemical dependency and was lucky enough to have found a solution because I finally hit a place in my life where I WANTED recovery and didn't want to die.

If there were no longer a need for my services in this field....I would do something else that I enjoyed doing. Hell, somebody has to do what I do! Somebody has to be a garbage collector, a plumber, a debt collector, a proctologist etc etc I just happen to love my job and helping others fills a void that used to be filled with drugs and alcohol.

To those that have read this whole rambling, thank you! These are my opinions only, however the statistics are readily available online for anyone interested in doing the research. Again, I share many of your frustrations opinions. It's not quite as black and white an issue as some make it out to be-there are many layers.

I have been to almost a dozen funerals this year of aquaintances that have died from their addiction (whether by OD or suicide or directly related in other ways) and I would really like to think that their lives were not in vain. Their deaths are sad and preventable, but in a strange way....have opened the doors wide open for this type of discussion to happen (whether positive or negative) and for that I thank them.

Thanks for reading.

[Catsumi]

A good post Loki, thanks for taking all that time to prepare it.

I wonder if addicts have told you what they think needs to be done to them, for them, to break the dependency cycle. Do they have a wish list?

Thanks

[the truth]

A good post Loki, thanks for taking all that time to prepare it.

I wonder if addicts have told you what they think needs to be done to them, for them, to break the dependency cycle. Do they have a wish list?

Thanks

great question catsumi

[BigBearBruno]

Don't do drugs and you won't OD. Bizarre thing to say, I know...

[Loki2u]

A good post Loki, thanks for taking all that time to prepare it.

I wonder if addicts have told you what they think needs to be done to them, for them, to break the dependency cycle. Do they have a wish list?

Thanks

Surprisingly, the majority that I speak with don't really talk about what needs to be done for them in this regard. They realize quickly they damage they have done to themselves, their families and communities and are full of shame and guilt. They understand they had a take take take mentality, and to break the cycle moving forward in recovery its usually more about give give give. (For lack of better words)

That being said there are a couple of key things that would greatly improve their chances of success both pre and post treatment.

1) Availability of beds at treatment facilities.
-At present, the supply can not keep up with the demand. New centers pop up up all the time, but many are not properly accredited or certified. Bug infested and very poor living conditions with marginal structure, programming and aftercare solutions.
-It is not uncommon for a person to have to wait 4-6+ weeks to have a bed become available

2) Costs of treatment
-As you can imagine, treatment costs money. There are many not-for profit societies that offer solutions to overcome this as much as there are privately run facilities that charge and arm and a leg for their services.
-The large majority of clients can not afford the costs at either facility and if there are ways for funding to be covered, they aren't aware of it.

3) Lack of Affordable Housing post-treatment
-The transition stage back into society is pivotal, and this is probably where most relapse occurs.
-There is a lack of affordable housing to transition back in to. As you can imagine, most in treatment have lost damn near everything. Jobs, families, houses, drivers licenses etc.
-Although they do still exist, long gone are the days of 28 day treatment programs. Most facilities understand that the treatment process need to last a minimum of three months, and around a year would be preferrable.
-Once the patient completes the treatment, they can't just be thrown back into society without anything to go back to. Jobs need to be secured as does a place to live. Both can be scarce, the latter being very scarce.

I believe it is my job to set them up for success as much as possible when they complete their treatment, but it is hard to do when there is such a low vacancy rate for affordable housing. This is why I'm such a strong proponent of places like the new site being proposed by Freedoms Door (I won't get into that debate here. Lol) so these men and women can carry the momentum forward in recovery and establish solid footing to ease their transition.

The above is just based on my experiences at my location. I don't want to speak for every center or program or each individual.
Hope that answers your question a bit

[the truth]

your heart is in the right place , but man after reading your last post seems to me everything needs to be handed to them on a sliver platter

[common_sense_guy]

Huge problem is there's not enough treatment options for anybody that even wants to get help. Even if we had one bed for every two addicts we can that also change the rules for possession of one of those substances to be instant entry into a drug treatment facility for a month or whatever length of time it would take to give them a chance. I don't think anybody would be fighting the government for making new rules and laws that if you're caught under the influence of those drugs and with drugs it's like mandatory lock up for a month minimum with the exception that you're actually getting full-time treatment.. instead we give them safe injection sites and encourage them. *bleep* backwards. Spend the money on treatment options sooner rather than later it's the only thing that's going to help. Maybe a journalist could look into it and Report how many actual beds are available and how many drug addicts there are

[the truth]

i like your idea but i do believe forced rehab does not work, every junkie has to want to get clean not forced to get clean, sad but true

[WalterWhite]

From the beginning of the year up to and including July 2, there have been more than 200 overdose deaths in Vancouver, according to aggregated coroner and police data. At that pace, the city could hit more than 400 deaths by year’s end.

Last year, Vancouver firefighters assisted in 4,709 calls for overdoses, which was more than 2014 and 2015 combined. As of July 2 this year, Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services has responded to more than 3,600 calls. That puts the city on track to log 7,000 calls by the end of 2017.

I wonder where Vancouver's numbers are at this point, now almost three months after this story ran.

[common_sense_guy]

i like your idea but i do believe forced rehab does not work, every junkie has to want to get clean not forced to get clean, sad but true

I agree that the junkie needs to want to get help for them to work most of the time but usually that's because there are currently under the influence and if we force them into a situation long enough where they couldn't have any drugs that at the end of that month they would actually be thinking with a clear head and already have passed dope sickness stage which is the worst from what I understand and the reason why most druggies don't try and stop. Lock them up long enough to have a clean mind and pass the dope sick stage then give them the option to go into recovery or face the charges of possession