Alberta has invested heavily in addiction treatment and recovery programs rather than harm reduction that keeps people in an “addiction lifestyle,” B.C. Liberal leader says
B.C. Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon says the province needs to follow Alberta’s example in its approach to the toxic-drug-overdose crisis.
“The results are getting worse every year in terms of overdose deaths, and that is tragic, because these are people often in the prime of their lives that are losing lives.” There were 92 opioid-related deaths in Alberta in July, the lowest number of opioid-related fatalities on record since April 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, said the government. The peak was 176 deaths in November 2021.In 2019, Alberta committed to funding an additional 4,000 annual treatment spaces and announced in late 2021 it had met that goal, resulting in 8,000 publicly funded annual treatment, detox and recovery spaces.
The B.C. Coroners Service held death review panels into illicit drug toxicity deaths in both 2017 and 2021. In a phone interview on Tuesday, Mental Health and Addictions Minister Sheila Malcolmson said because the toxic drug crisis is so complex, and the reasons that people become addicted are so multifaceted, the province’s approach must be comprehensive.
There’s no data in any peer-reviewed research that the B.C. government has looked at “that demonstrates that Alberta’s investments in their treatment services are linked to health outcomes,” said Malcolmson.
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