Thread by @CoreyRanger

The #AlbertaModel at work. 🧵

“A Medicine Hat-based recovery organization, which has to date received six-figures in government funding, has endorsed an anti-supervised consumption site ad campaign in the U.S.”

First, a must read from @JeremyAppel1025

open.substack.com/pub/theorchard…

This attack on supervised consumption services is not a one-off. It’s a pattern of misinformation.

From @ehyshka:

“It is unfortunate to see an Alberta-based organization lobbying the United States government against supporting this intervention,”

#ableg

Unfortunate, but not surprising. There is a coordinated movement underway to shift public opinion away from #HarmReduction. A movement heavily influenced by the misinformation machine in #Alberta.

https://twitter.com/ehyshka/status/1617930251530821632

The #Alberta #UCP are committed to letting people who use drugs die. There is a clear history of producing methodologically flawed and biased reports disparaging #HarmReduction services.

Exhibit A:

https://twitter.com/coreyranger/status/1235691173664063488

Criminology professor @dr_jdlivingston on the #Alberta SCS report:

“the magnitude of methodological flaws in the Report undermine the validity of its criminological claims and raise significant issues with the soundness of its conclusions.”

harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11…

https://twitter.com/dr_jdlivingston/status/1398411644611477512

Then the #UCP manufactured the WIDELY DEBUNKED “a public supply of addicted drugs: a rapid review” which was not even successful at keeping bias out of the title.

Both the SCS report and the #SafeSupply review are of critically low quality.

https://twitter.com/bccsu/status/1521168800401354752

Alberta-based @HelpSeekerOrg produced the #Edmonton + #Vancouver police reports on “social safety net spending”. Both reports used flawed metrics.

Edmonton’s police chief said the quiet part loud, admitting the report was to “push back against calls to reduce the police budget”

https://twitter.com/coreyranger/status/1590443345008287745

The anti-harm reduction propaganda extends beyond Alberta.

Most recently, New West “Last Door” is floating anecdotes about youth getting their hands on regulated DrUGZ as a means to undermine #SafeSupply in BC.

globalnews.ca/news/9433341/d…

First of all, between January 1 - October 31, 2022, 28 youth under the age of 19 died by drug poisoning in BC. In that same time frame, 262 people aged 19-29 died by the same cause.

The cause was UNREGULATED DRUGS.

And we’re sharing anecdotes about hydromorphone?!

From @bccoroners service:

1) No deaths have been reported at supervised consumption or drug overdose prevention sites.

2) There is no indication that prescribed safe supply is contributing to illicit drug deaths.

www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/bir…

So why is this important? Corey are you going somewhere with all this?

Yes. Maybe.

The group that’s spreading rumours about safe supply is also a member of the group spreading misinformation about supervised consumption services.

https://twitter.com/nicolemluongo/status/1618043537857318913

The anti-harm reduction movement is organized and gaining momentum. Their misinformation and gaslighting tactics are gaining popularity.

They are unified in their goals.

We must not allow their rhetoric to win.

https://twitter.com/zachwritesstuff/status/1617573177076617217

Let’s be perfectly clear:

👏Overdose prevention sites + supervised consumption services SAVE LIVES 👏

👏#SafeSupply is required to end drug poisoning deaths👏

👏#HarmReduction reduces individual and community harms that are generated by HARMFUL LAWS AND POLICIES.

END.

PS.

Some additional important context about #Alberta’s deceptive data manipulation.

First, “we can forecast drug poisoning deaths without provincial data” from @elsthomson.

euanthomson.substack.com/p/we-can-forec…

PSS.

Lastly, “The Alberta Model: Who benefits from the Alberta government’s shift away from harm reduction to abstinence-only recovery” by @JeremyAppel1025

theprogressreport.ca/the_alberta_mo…