We have to face reality when it comes to the addiction epidemic and start implementing some solid policies to deal with it..Progressives remain fixated on failed policies of enablement to deal with addiction — if they can be coaxed into addressing the issue at all..With overdoses rising, progressive activists and politicians insist that providing free drugs and safe consumption sites will ease the problem. The numbers tell a different tale, as overdoses and addiction levels continue to skyrocket in west coast cities where such policies have been in place for years..At the same time, conservatives can be too fixated on treatment. Addicts do desperately need treatment, but they often aren’t willing to take part in it. Many addicts won’t survive long enough to reach a point where they are ready for treatment..Supervised consumption sites provide some benefits but most of the addicts on the streets don’t partake in them. Providing “safe” supplies is of limited value as well. Is there really such a thing as a safe supply of meth?.Some “safe supply” advocates imply addicts can live perfectly functional lives as long as they can get a consistent, pure supply of whatever their particular poison is. That’s like saying that a supply of free, high-quality liquor is just what alcoholics need..In looking at the mayhem on our streets and health care centres, it is clear current policies are failing to get the addiction epidemic under control..It’s time to start committing addicts to secured facilities for treatment without their consent..There. Yes. I said it out loud..Addiction has correctly been labelled as a disease. People have also accepted that addiction and mental health issues are deeply intertwined..We have always had the ability to commit people to mental institutions when they clearly were presenting a risk to themselves or others due to mental illness. Such a move is a measure of last resort of course. Taking the personal liberty away from somebody who hasn’t committed a crime can never be taken lightly. We do so when we must when people have serious mental health issues though and we need to start doing it with late-stage, street addicts..How can anybody deny that an untreated addict will do harm to themselves if there isn’t an intervention of some sort?.How can we sit and watch them wither away while the drugs eat them alive?.It is a terrible path to death. Everybody who spends time in urban areas has seen it, though we prefer to look the other way..Addicts grow gaunt, their teeth fall out and their bodies become covered in sores. Their minds become damaged and they lose touch with reality, whether stoned or not. If an overdose doesn’t take them, or they don’t die of exposure to the elements, their organs will eventually just cease to function..We can’t pretend that the street addicts won’t harm others either. The high numbers of violent crime in areas frequented by addicts and the random acts of violence committed by strung out addicts demonstrate a measurable risk to the public..Heavily addicted people on the street meet the requirements for involuntary commitment, so let’s get on with it..Yes, we need to bring facilities on stream to deal with the new load of inpatients and yes it will be expensive. How costly is the status quo though?.How expensive will it be to leave the addicts on the streets?.How much time do they spend in court or in jail when they commit crimes to feed their addictions?.How much time do they spend in hospital for their health challenges and overdoses?.How much pressure do they put on emergency responders at every level?.Incarcerating somebody can never be taken lightly. We would need to establish some measures and checks to ensure that there is no other reasonable course of action before taking somebody’s liberty away..Some will claim that securing addicts against their will would infringe on their dignity..Let’s face it, when people have hit rock bottom on the streets, they have little to no dignity left..How much dignity is there for the person passed out in a park soaked in their own bodily eliminations?.How much dignity is there shuffling around street corners begging for money or prostituting themselves for a fix?.Some of the addicts may respond to treatment and be rehabilitated. Some may not be responsive and could be secured for indefinite periods..There are no easy solutions..One can say with confidence though that sticking with the status quo is offering nothing but a slow death sentence to many addicts on the streets while citizens suffer from the crime and disorder associated with the drug use..It’s inhumane not to intervene..To leave addicts in the streets as we have been isn’t a sustainable plan.
