Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre blasted the Liberal government’s $820-million safe drug supply policy as a senseless and destructive “nightmare” that’s “ravaging communities.”There’s little or no impact on helping drug users beat addiction. In fact, drug abuse and related harms continue to rise with the provision of a steady supply of taxpayer-funded hard drugs, concluded a Department of Health report.Poilievre hears the cries begging for help from people trapped in the mentally tortured and dangerous throes of addiction with limited resources for treatment — while government feeds these addictions by supplying drugs on demand.“At first I thought it was just sort of a naive Utopianism that was driving this idea of giving out free drugs and decriminalizing these poisons,” Poilievre told business owners with the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Friday, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.“But now the evidence is so clear that it has been a nightmare you have to ask yourself, what is motivating this policy.”Poilievre called for cabinet to “completely” reverse this ‘safe supply’ Liberal policy that’s opposed by the majority of Canadians to “break the cycle of addiction that is raging out of control in our country.”He'll be stubbornly ignored.Just like Oregon officials ignored District 3 State Representative Lily Morgan’s calls in 2022 to reverse a “feckless, inhumane plan” to decriminalize possession of up to 2.5 grams of drugs including opioids, methamphetamine, and cocaine.“It’s becoming harder and harder to save lives. It’s wearing on our people to constantly see people dying in front of us,” Morgan told the Western Standard at the time. “The motivation for somebody to get clean is gone.”“Canada was the first place I ever heard somebody reference ‘Give them the needles, give them the drugs so they don’t have to go to jail for it.’ What is that person’s hope in life? Are they able to work? Are they able to provide for their families? How is that helping that person?” said Morgan, in reference to safe injection sites.The Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act, the first of its kind in the US passed into law in February 2021 with 58% voter approval, has failed miserably.Last month, a 90-day public health and safety state of emergency, because of the fentanyl crisis, was declared for downtown Portland. The social experiment has left such a trail of death, despair, crime and carnage, Oregon Democrat Gov. Kotek announced Thursday she’ll soon sign House Bill 4002 rolling back the short-lived Measure 110 that decriminalized small amounts of most illegal drugs. Kotek will redirect much of the state’s marijuana tax revenue towards funding addiction services.Too late for too many. The 861 recorded Oregon overdoses in the 12 months leading to February 2021 nearly doubled to 1,650 in the following 12-month period. Adequate funding for the promised enhanced treatment centres promoted in the plan to decriminalize never materialized.When the bill passes, addicts caught with hard drugs for personal consumption including heroine, fentanyl or methamphetamine will face a choice between getting charged with a misdemeanor (up to six months in jail) or getting treatment.Police will be able to confiscate drugs. The hope is also to clean up open drug activity plaguing neighbourhoods — a similar complaint echoed in filthy, crime-riddled neighbourhoods with safe consumption sites across Canada.Poilievre said a future Conservative government would repeal the policy and implement plans that work.“My common sense plan is to stop funding these consumption sites which are not safe and instead invest in treatment and recovery services.”Common sense, and one might argue true compassion, eludes too many roaming the halls of Parliament.Last May, Poilievre sponsored a motion calling for the reversal of the “deadly” policies and the redirection of “all funds from taxpayer-funded hard drug programs to addiction treatment and recovery programs.” It was defeated in a 209 to 113 vote.A Department of Health report disclosed in January determined that $820 million taxpayer dollars are doing nothing to reduce drug addiction.“People have continued to engage in opioid use behaviour that increases risk of harm,” said the Horizontal Evaluation Of the Canadian Drugs And Substances Strategy.“Minimal changes since 2017 to rates of high-risk substance use suggest further prevention efforts are required. The rates of substance use and related harm continue to rise.”But supporters of feeding addicts with hard drugs stick to weak arguments such as safe drug sites ease ‘the stigma of drug addiction.’ And the false claim that decriminalizing hard drug use compels addicts to seek treatment.BC did that in January 2023 and is in the midst of a “humanitarian crisis” with overdose deaths reaching unprecedented levels, said Renee Merrifield, Liberal MLA for Kelowna-Mission.Merrifield called for BC to follow Oregon’s lead and reverse drug decriminalization in a March 5 opinion column in KelownaNow.There’s an “urgent need” to re-evaluate decriminalization which “failed” to reduce harm, improve public safety and address “the complexities of addiction and its societal impacts,” she wrote.Oregon’s policy pivot “serves as a cautionary tale.”“The parallels between Oregon's initial decriminalization efforts and BC's current drug policy are striking,” wrote Merrifield.“Both are failing. But Oregon is taking steps to change that, while the BC government is doubling down.”“There are so many lives at stake.”There’s ample and building evidence to dispel any “naïve Utopianism” behind the destructive Liberal policy. In no one’s right mind does stigma trump saving lives.Poilievre asked a critical question that no one seems to want to honestly answer.What’s motivating this? Who is benefitting? Addicts aren’t. Communities aren’t. Taxpayers aren’t. So, who?
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre blasted the Liberal government’s $820-million safe drug supply policy as a senseless and destructive “nightmare” that’s “ravaging communities.”There’s little or no impact on helping drug users beat addiction. In fact, drug abuse and related harms continue to rise with the provision of a steady supply of taxpayer-funded hard drugs, concluded a Department of Health report.Poilievre hears the cries begging for help from people trapped in the mentally tortured and dangerous throes of addiction with limited resources for treatment — while government feeds these addictions by supplying drugs on demand.“At first I thought it was just sort of a naive Utopianism that was driving this idea of giving out free drugs and decriminalizing these poisons,” Poilievre told business owners with the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Friday, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.“But now the evidence is so clear that it has been a nightmare you have to ask yourself, what is motivating this policy.”Poilievre called for cabinet to “completely” reverse this ‘safe supply’ Liberal policy that’s opposed by the majority of Canadians to “break the cycle of addiction that is raging out of control in our country.”He'll be stubbornly ignored.Just like Oregon officials ignored District 3 State Representative Lily Morgan’s calls in 2022 to reverse a “feckless, inhumane plan” to decriminalize possession of up to 2.5 grams of drugs including opioids, methamphetamine, and cocaine.“It’s becoming harder and harder to save lives. It’s wearing on our people to constantly see people dying in front of us,” Morgan told the Western Standard at the time. “The motivation for somebody to get clean is gone.”“Canada was the first place I ever heard somebody reference ‘Give them the needles, give them the drugs so they don’t have to go to jail for it.’ What is that person’s hope in life? Are they able to work? Are they able to provide for their families? How is that helping that person?” said Morgan, in reference to safe injection sites.The Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act, the first of its kind in the US passed into law in February 2021 with 58% voter approval, has failed miserably.Last month, a 90-day public health and safety state of emergency, because of the fentanyl crisis, was declared for downtown Portland. The social experiment has left such a trail of death, despair, crime and carnage, Oregon Democrat Gov. Kotek announced Thursday she’ll soon sign House Bill 4002 rolling back the short-lived Measure 110 that decriminalized small amounts of most illegal drugs. Kotek will redirect much of the state’s marijuana tax revenue towards funding addiction services.Too late for too many. The 861 recorded Oregon overdoses in the 12 months leading to February 2021 nearly doubled to 1,650 in the following 12-month period. Adequate funding for the promised enhanced treatment centres promoted in the plan to decriminalize never materialized.When the bill passes, addicts caught with hard drugs for personal consumption including heroine, fentanyl or methamphetamine will face a choice between getting charged with a misdemeanor (up to six months in jail) or getting treatment.Police will be able to confiscate drugs. The hope is also to clean up open drug activity plaguing neighbourhoods — a similar complaint echoed in filthy, crime-riddled neighbourhoods with safe consumption sites across Canada.Poilievre said a future Conservative government would repeal the policy and implement plans that work.“My common sense plan is to stop funding these consumption sites which are not safe and instead invest in treatment and recovery services.”Common sense, and one might argue true compassion, eludes too many roaming the halls of Parliament.Last May, Poilievre sponsored a motion calling for the reversal of the “deadly” policies and the redirection of “all funds from taxpayer-funded hard drug programs to addiction treatment and recovery programs.” It was defeated in a 209 to 113 vote.A Department of Health report disclosed in January determined that $820 million taxpayer dollars are doing nothing to reduce drug addiction.“People have continued to engage in opioid use behaviour that increases risk of harm,” said the Horizontal Evaluation Of the Canadian Drugs And Substances Strategy.“Minimal changes since 2017 to rates of high-risk substance use suggest further prevention efforts are required. The rates of substance use and related harm continue to rise.”But supporters of feeding addicts with hard drugs stick to weak arguments such as safe drug sites ease ‘the stigma of drug addiction.’ And the false claim that decriminalizing hard drug use compels addicts to seek treatment.BC did that in January 2023 and is in the midst of a “humanitarian crisis” with overdose deaths reaching unprecedented levels, said Renee Merrifield, Liberal MLA for Kelowna-Mission.Merrifield called for BC to follow Oregon’s lead and reverse drug decriminalization in a March 5 opinion column in KelownaNow.There’s an “urgent need” to re-evaluate decriminalization which “failed” to reduce harm, improve public safety and address “the complexities of addiction and its societal impacts,” she wrote.Oregon’s policy pivot “serves as a cautionary tale.”“The parallels between Oregon's initial decriminalization efforts and BC's current drug policy are striking,” wrote Merrifield.“Both are failing. But Oregon is taking steps to change that, while the BC government is doubling down.”“There are so many lives at stake.”There’s ample and building evidence to dispel any “naïve Utopianism” behind the destructive Liberal policy. In no one’s right mind does stigma trump saving lives.Poilievre asked a critical question that no one seems to want to honestly answer.What’s motivating this? Who is benefitting? Addicts aren’t. Communities aren’t. Taxpayers aren’t. So, who?
