Thread by @ODWarRoom

Golly, we ❤️ evidence.

The federal Health Minister @PattyHajdu said today: “The evidence shows us that supervised-consumption sites and services save lives and can provide people who use drugs with access to health and social services and treatment,”
#FactsNotFearAB #SCS
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From tinyurl.com/y4vfafgl @lethnewsnow

The evidence she is referring to is ethical and peer-reviewed. ❤️

At a time when Canadians are talking about safe supply, decriminalization and regulation #abpoli is in the dark ages thinking that residential addictions treatment
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is the only treatment available. There are tons of types of addictions treatments. We need them all, because one type of treatment modality doesn't work for everyone.

Here is the dangerous part of residential treatment during a fentanyl crisis:
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Drug Tolerance

Detox, a short stay to detoxify your body is a pre-requisite for residential treatment and is 4-7 days. Waiting lists are routine.

It's a health care miracle if you can get into residential treatment the day you leave detox.

So, almost everyone doesn't.
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In the 4-7 days your body gets a break from the drugs you were using.

Breaks means your drug tolerance goes down. Your body has less tolerance for the drugs you were using last week. Also, the drugs available from the unregulated market have probably also changed. #DANGER
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This means if someone relapses and uses the same amount of opioids as they did before detox, overdose is almost assured.

Let's be honest, a return to drug use often happens.

We've never met anyone who stopped drugs the first time and stayed stopped. Have you?
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⬇️Drug Tolerance ➕Opiod Relapse =⬆️Risk for Overdose. This is a bad response to the fentanyl crisis.

We need more options, not less, b/c Albertans aren't all the same. There is no magic bullet. Closing important services to open others isn't right. We need more of them all. 7/7