Agree with this being a complex issue, Ryan. I agree with increased community addiction treatment responses, but I'm not in favour of decriminalizing and harm reduction approaches (which tend to go hand in hand) based on what I intuit or info I've seen. Oregon is a canary in the coal mine for this type of approach and early data does not show success in the realm of hard stats (hard to quantify beyond overdose deaths). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167629623000759. The harm reduction approach also runs counter to what I and others intuit as parents, whereby an increased tolerance of destructive behaviours exhibited by our children might be better solved by waiting it out and letting natural consequences take their place. There are times and places for that parenting approach, but where collateral damage is taking place (ie two siblings fist fighting) it is easy to see that a more tolerant approach can have harmful consequences that could be prevented. Also in the realm of belief, no one will ever be able to count the overdoses prevented by police officers (or others) who confiscate drugs from addicts on the street vs letting them use them. Probably an area most can agree on is increasing enforcement on the supply side, difficult as that is.
Your insightful exploration of complex addiction issues highlights the need for compassionate, multi-faceted solutions. Thank you for sharing your perspective and fostering important discussions!
There is a need to discuss this at every kitchen table in Saskatchewan. No family is immune.
Agree with this being a complex issue, Ryan. I agree with increased community addiction treatment responses, but I'm not in favour of decriminalizing and harm reduction approaches (which tend to go hand in hand) based on what I intuit or info I've seen. Oregon is a canary in the coal mine for this type of approach and early data does not show success in the realm of hard stats (hard to quantify beyond overdose deaths). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167629623000759. The harm reduction approach also runs counter to what I and others intuit as parents, whereby an increased tolerance of destructive behaviours exhibited by our children might be better solved by waiting it out and letting natural consequences take their place. There are times and places for that parenting approach, but where collateral damage is taking place (ie two siblings fist fighting) it is easy to see that a more tolerant approach can have harmful consequences that could be prevented. Also in the realm of belief, no one will ever be able to count the overdoses prevented by police officers (or others) who confiscate drugs from addicts on the street vs letting them use them. Probably an area most can agree on is increasing enforcement on the supply side, difficult as that is.
Your insightful exploration of complex addiction issues highlights the need for compassionate, multi-faceted solutions. Thank you for sharing your perspective and fostering important discussions!
Robert from Beyond AI