Thread by @EZMSA2

In November, we saw nearly 500 EMS opioid-related calls in Edmonton alone. A post on the #ethics of #opioidpoisoning and #harmreduction from Dr. Cheryl Mack

This week the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta will be hearing a critical case dealing with supervised consumption sites. The case is about regulations that this provincial government has enacted that create barriers to receiving services in safer, supervised environments.

While we wait for the courts to assess the legality of these barriers; the ethics of these barriers is already clear. The time is now to reduce barriers to supervised consumption sites.

Mischaracterizing those calling for more harm ⬇️ services as facilitating deadly addictions is wrong and polarizing...oversimplifies the crisis as a single issue of addiction when the driver of this wave of the epidemic is a toxic supply of illicitly produced synth opioids

Mischaracterizing harm reduction fails to look at growing evidence suppt harm prevention through supervised consumption sites, safer supply, decrim of small vol drug possession, and access to drug checking kits allowing those who use drugs to test their supply for contamination

Public health ethics calls on us to do much better. We cannot continue to allow preventable drug poisonings to occur. We need access to the tools that will save lives.

Full text here 👇