Comments on: Substance abuse – developing local strategies

By: ksulliva

ksulliva — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 19:17:40 +0000

Hi Bruce,

The Committee’s strategy report will be finalized in February, and we will post it then. It will have details on all the recommended strategies.

The Committee has done an Environmental Scan/ Needs Assessment, which identifies substance abuse issues in our community. This was the starting point for the committee to develop their recommendations. I’ve added the Environmental Scan document to the mayor’s post.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Kate Sullivan
Mayor’s Office

By: Bruce Voss

Bruce Voss — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 04:57:32 +0000

What specific strategies are scheduled for funding and implementation? What are the details?

i.e. “number of recommendations” – what are they?

What about discussion of logical policy on substance abuse, rather than politically popular policy?

We need some radical changes nationally in health care and enforcement when it comes to substance abuse (addiction).

Controlled access to free drugs to take use off the streets and eliminate trafficking, petty crime, violent crime and prostitution.

A safe place for users to use – an interface with the user and heath care / treatment system.

Political socialization policy to change the mindset of the Canadian citizen on the disease of addiction and it’s HUGE impact on our society in human and economic terms.

Enforcement budgets can be slashed and health care budgets increased.

Organized crime can be dealt a death blow by moving the control of drugs that are now illegal from the syndicates and independent drug dealers to the government.

Addiction Care, Health Care, NOT band-aid fixes like street level enforcement and “management” that victimizes sick people and guarantees a continual cycle of illegal drug trafficking (giving huge sums of $$$ to crime syndicates, and off shore suppliers) crime, violence, and abuse of a marginalized portion of society.

WAKE UP AND DO WHAT MAKES SENSE!! (NOT necessarily what gets you elected).

Oh yeah, and publicize these forums better… Heather the STC Alumni needs to know about this stuff!!!!

By: Richard

Richard — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:53:04 +0000

I hope the committee looked at the great resources and research from the Search Institute and the Healthy Communities/Healthy Youth initiatives. http://www.search-institute.org/content/what-kids-need

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:46:47 +0000

I have suffered form alcoholism and prescription drug addiction for 15 years. Now that I am clean I have published my story is a book called Constant Cravings: One Man’s True Story of His Struggle With Prescription Drug Addiction. My hope for this book is that it will help addicts and alcoholics and their families as much as writing it helped me.

It is avaliable at
http://www.eloquentbooks.com/ConstantCravings.html