HYDROMORPHONE IS AN AMAZING SUBSTANCE.
When that opioid is coursing through your veins, everything in the world is okay.
You feel calm, you feel relaxed, and most importantly, your pain fades away.
Every year, thousands of British Columbians die for the simple sin of wanting their pain to fade away.
Some of them are street-entrenched with complex mental health and addiction issues — exactly the type of person whose image springs to mind when we hear the words “drug overdose.”
But many of them are not — they are professionals, students, dedicated family members.
What they all have in common is pain and the need for relief. Opioids, whether prescribed or otherwise, offer just that.
Having a desire to manage and alleviate pain — whether physical or emotional — is not a moral failing. It’s not a sin. Yet that is so often how we as a society treat it.
Premier David Eby announced 180 treatment beds Thursday (Jan. 25), supposedly a record expansion of treatment options.
Even if that number wasn’t already suspect because it includes beds either previously announced or already in use, it would be laughable because of how paltry it is compared to another number — 2,511.
That’s also a record. It’s the number of British Columbians who died last year alone because they ingested toxic drugs.
Eight years after the overdose crisis was declared a public health emergency and seven years since the NDP were elected to power promising to address the crisis, that number should be going down, not up.
Sadly, this week’s announcement by the premier — fewer than 180 new beds — exemplifies the response that has become typical of this government — lip service.
Not only are our governments doing a poor job of providing the type of services that save lives, they are doing a poor job at addressing the root causes of the pain people are trying to numb.
Causes like the lack of affordability that leads to hopelessness. Causes like a lack of housing that leads people to the streets. Causes like a lack of quality, comprehensive health care.
In addition to offering available treatment for both pain and addiction, our governments need to do their parts to stop causing that pain in the first place.
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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.
