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Dee Bee's avatar

Yes we need longitudinal studies that show the ultimate cost of long term drug use versus the cost of meaningful prevention and recovery. We have to stop enabling morbidity, death, lack of productivity, homelessness, disability and unemployability. We are infantilizing drug addicts and ensuring their premature death, a life-long dependency, homelessness or incarceration, and all of this will have alarming cost to and impact on health care systems, first responders and law enforcement. At what cost do we continue to enable drug use and addiction? At some point, we have to ask the question, is this crisis really getting better for those who are struggling or are things only getting better for those who end up with jobs in these programs that lack oversight and accountability?

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barbara smith's avatar

How about putting some of that research money into getting these people well. Addicts are researched to death, literally. Safe supply, the constant harm reduction policies have turned this into a horrible circus… officials running around like idiots rather than make a decision - treat it like they did with covid. Build therapeutic communities - the cost of these people getting well now as opposed to the prevention that could have been done is going to break our health budget as it continues to support these people in staying where they are. Choice, Self determination…. I don’t think so, these poeple are damaged beyond choice. It sickens me that recovery is silenced and this idea continues as everyone is being affected.

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