The Opioid Crisis in Canada – Some Facts Counter to Conservative Party Claims that CERB is at Fault for Escalating Numbers

Recently in their efforts to misinform Canadians about the support funds that the Liberal Party have spread thru the land, the Conservatives have hitched onto the opioid crisis and it’s effect on Canadians.

Their claim was that giving CERB (the emergency stimulus checks) has somehow escalated the crisis.

As the below info makes clear, it was doing fine on it’s own.

And the CON party also makes assumptions about the demographics of those who misuse/abuse opioids. It seems to be a broad spectrum of racial and socio-economic trends. But the demographic group that would (I can safely presume) not have access to CERB is similar to a placebo group in a drug study. Those in prison who didn’t get the CERB money (again, I presume) had escalating numbers as well. So, yeah CON dufuses trying to make claims where none can be made. See for yourself.

definition

“a death caused by intoxication/toxicity (poisoning) as a result of drug use, where one or more of the drugs involved is an opioid.”

demographics from NIH survey – hospitals and coroners

• In 2016, there were 2861 apparent opioid-related deaths
  on average, 16 Canadians were hospitalized each day due to opioid-related poisonings in Canada

gen pop

• British Columbia and Alberta, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. highest
  males; individuals between 30 and 39 years of age (74%) of deaths
• 82% of apparent opioid-related deaths from January 2016 to June 2017 also involved one or more non-opioid substances.
• Since the early 1980s, the volume of opioids sold to hospitals and pharmacies for prescriptions in Canada has increased by more than 3000%
• Canada: the second-largest consumer (USA # 1) of prescription opioids
  more common to misuse a prescription opioid than to use heroin or cocaine
• Nearly one-third of those who had used an opioid in the past year did not always have a prescription. This proportion increased to almost half in teens younger than 18 years and 88% among persons using illegal drugs
• Most common source of opioids used without a prescription was a family member.
• Nationally, in 2015 the prevalence of illicit drug use (“within the previous 12 months”) was 2% (1% females; 3% males). This included use of crack, cocaine, ecstasy, speed or methamphetamines, hallucinogens or heroin and therefore was not specific to opioids
• Heroin, fentanyl and its analogues, hydromorphone, oxycodone and morphine were the most frequently detected opioids in samples analyzed by DAS.
• Fentanyl and its analogues (e.g. carfentanil, furanylfentanyl, acetylfentanyl) are becoming more prevalent on the illegal drug market and are increasingly combined with other controlled substances, which increases their potential toxicity and the risk of an overdose.
• Carfentanil, which is 100 times more powerful than fentanyl, presents another growing concern and has been detected in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario. In 2016/17, DAS tested 91 seized samples of carfentanil: 56% from British Columbia, 17% from Alberta, 19% from Manitoba and 7% from Ontario.
• British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba showed that the majority of opioid-related overdose deaths occurred indoors, in private residences, in larger urban centres, though many deaths also occurred on the periphery of these urban centres and in a large number of smaller communities as well. In Alberta and Ontario, those who died tended to reside in lowerto middle-income neighbourhoods; however, deaths occurred in neighbourhoods across all socioeconomic groups.
• In Manitoba, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner found the most frequently prescribed medications, six months prior to an apparent opioid-related death, were an opioid (60%), an antidepressant (52%) and a benzodiazepine (47%).
• In Alberta, opioid-related overdose involving an opioid other than fentanyl were nearly twice as likely to have accessed a (listed) health care service (77% vs. 41%),16 or to have been dispensed an opioid (66% vs. 23%) or antidepressant (38% vs. 14%) from a community pharmacy in the 30 days prior to their death.

…..First Nations

• First Nations’ populations across the country are heavily impacted by high rates of problematic substance use.
• First Nations people were five times more likely than their non–First Nations counterparts to experience an opioid- related overdose event and three times more likely to die from an opioid-related overdose.
• First Nations men and women were almost equally likely to experience an opioid-related overdose event.
• First Nations women (aged 50 to 54 years) represented a higher proportion of all opioidrelated deaths. First Nations men were younger (30 to 34 years)

homeless

• Homeless populations are also at risk of opioid-related harms.
• Unstable housing (i.e. no fixed address or unknown address) was reported by approximately 30% of those presenting for a known or suspected overdose, and by almost 50% of young people aged 13 to 18 years.

Inmates

in provincial and territorial prisons and federal penitentiaries.
source

2017 – self report survey of Opioid Pain Relievers

• Of the three classes of psychoactive pharmaceuticals, opioid pain relievers were the most used with 12% (3.5 million) of Canadians aged 15 years and older reporting having used such a drug in the past year, unchanged from 2015 (13% or 3.8 million). * There was no difference in the prevalence of past-year opioid pain reliever use between females (12% or 1.8 million) and males (11% or 1.6 million) and both were unchanged from 2015 (14% or 2 million and 12% or 1.7 million, respectively).
• Among the 12% of Canadians who used opioid pain relievers in the past year, 3% (100,000) reported problematic use of them. Among all Canadians aged 15 and older, the prevalence of problematic use of opioids was not reportable due to small sample size. The prevalence of problematic use of opioids was also not reportable for females, for young adults aged 20 to 24 and for adults aged 25 years and older in the overall population due to small sample size.
  Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CTADS)

Lancet – 2018

The current opioid mortality crisis constitutes a much greater challenge than the crisis of the early 1990s, because it involves a vastly larger population at risk and the availability of more hazardous drugs.Lancet med journal 2018

map of opioid deaths in Canada – 2019

govt of Canada map Ontario current highest known just prior to the pandemic.

Advocacy Rules – Dancing with Politicians

This is a reminder for myself more than anyone reading it. Just hit a slowdown on a project I’ve been working on for a few months in some ways, and all my life in others. So it’s personal and i’m invested. So yeah, frustrated.

rule # 1 – (attention)

It doesn’t matter how good your cause is, or even if they agree with it, there has to be an audience for their time, attention to be had.
Their backers are best, but media will do in a pinch. Doesn’t even matter if it’s MSM or social sites, so long as people are walking by. They are media hogs.

rule # 2 – (timing)

Your cause is heard loud(er) if they’re up for re-election and it fits their parties’ platform. Esp if they think the opposing parties have dropped the ball and they can make them look bad. That they got to this first. They are ego hogs.

rule # 3 – (shame)

rarely works, so use it judiciously.

rule # 4 – (face)

Ordinary taxpaying citizens are never enough. Doesn’t matter how many there are. So if it’s a celeb or a ‘face’ that will attract sympathy as well as attention, it’s more effective than any number of people will ever be. Make it someone they can relate to or admire.

rule # 5 – (small acts)

Get them on a roll or wave of behaviour. A chain of small actions is far better than asking for a one-time big faviour. It becomes part of their routine, and they’re invested by having it there.

rule # 6 – (payment)

Find a way to pay them. Whether it’s money, food, attention, praise they won’t do it for free.

rule # 7 – (relatable)

To the crowd but more importantly to the party’s goals and the politician’s life, what you ask has to be something they see as relevant to them, their friends and family, and them. An investment now could be important in the future to a person they care about. Health is a good general one, but if they have kids, so is education.

rule # 8 – (midstream)

You cannot seem like a wingnut when you communicate with them. So go scream when the train goes by, then write your letter or make your call. And ask for middle-of-the-road plausible things in small bites. At least to get them in the door. Do not come off as an emo. That has to be their investment.
It helps if you show your work, just like math class. They’re more willing to help you if you do the leg work.
Another part of not being perceived as a wingnut, is that you cannot be​​ the sole advocate. They rarely look at you then. As well, it’s a crazy ride and you do need the support if you want to survive it.

rule # 9 – (idealism)

many politicians go into it actually wanting to help. The number of people affected by the problem grows the farther they are away from seeing the faces, lives involved. And the longer they’re in the seat. The higher their seat is. So if you can’t introduce them to the many people they can shake hands with, show them the crowd size and one person.

rule # 10 – (is for you – patience)

It’s going to be a long road to get anywhere, No matter what level you engage with. And no matter how invested they are (and in the early days that is very little), it will be a dance of two forward, one back. So find ways to recognize and celebrate the small achievements. And be sure they see the progress the cause is making.

At least that is my experience…..

The Govt, The Web: Trudeau vs Trump

Recently Trump has been actively pursuing control of the internet companies: Facebook, Twitter with executive orders and having someone buy tiktok. He doesn’t like it when they try to control his behaviour.

So when JT mentioned in the throne speech that he wanted big biz interwebz to fairly pay for using Cdn people, creativity and resources to get rich, people took it as a policing of the interwebz, cuzz that is what Trump is doing, right?

JT was told off about issues like web neutrality and freeze peach.

In the context of the pandemic though and asking big biz and rich guys to pay fair taxes, JT was making some moves to protect what is Canada’s, from what is not.

At a time when people are finding it hard to get paid work, he wanted to assure that web engineers, designers, artisans…. whoever, gets paid for the content they create.

That in Canada, the resources these company use are compliant with our laws, including labour laws, and our green goals.

That isn’t the same thing at all as what Trump is doing with his hissy fits. JT isn’t telling them what to publish or what content is allowed.

I’d be surprised to hear that even adult sites have been controlled adversely by Canadian law. Certainly not in a heavy-handed way like the SESTA/FOSTA acts that claim to be ‘saving the kids from the predators who traffick in them’ and haven’t really achieved more than to curb ordinary adult exchanges.

Or the UK content regulations either.

But I guess after Trump’s little hands all over the web and being cop of the world, they don’t know what the difference is anymore?

Let me assure you that in his time in politics, JT has never shown himself to be a cop of adults having a fun time or finding whatever love was available. Like Trump has.

Canada is one of the leaders of the world in sexual and gender freedom. At least under liberal reign.

And his party isn’t one that micro-manages. Even when maybe he should! (like when the premiers aren’t doing their jobs). He’s not an oligarch wannabe at all. And he just might have a little leftist in him. ( I think that’s more Maggie than Pierre lol)

So rich guys, get your wallets out. Cuzz Canadians want their pay for their work. Or go piss off and we’ll create our own. Trust me, we can. And with JT in power? Yeah we’ll have the govt’s support too.

Politics and Special Interest Groups: The Nut Bars Edition

It’s one thing to have something you care deeply about. We all do that.

for eg: I care deeply about martial arts. I’m an avid fan. I think education in martial arts helps kids to discipline themselves. Rather than expecting the adult to always be in the room.

I also think it’s good exercise. And in a day when many kids are overweight and/or trying to manage their diet with unsafe plans like binging, purging, and laxatives or drugs, teaching them the value of exercise is a good thing.

There! I made sense, right? And I bet a LOT of people would sign a petition if I forwarded one, right?

But should i? Does the country of Canada need​ martial arts as a principle cause? Much as it might actually be of benefit and I might enjoy that, I’m going to say no. Cuzz I’m not crazy? Yeah, that’s it. (hush you! I’m really not!)

See, I think the govt has a LOT of things it must fund, for it’s citizens to be safe and healthy. And yeah martial arts is effective for not only kids, but other people who are recovering from violence. So they feel empowered again. It can be therapeutic.

Yay! Martial arts are awesome, right?? Let’s do this petition!! Woop woop!

Oh wait!! …. But what with clean water, housing, food security, education, health care…. and the fate of the planet itself at stake right now, maybe that petition can wait. J/s

See? Not so nuts, at least about this cause, 😋 Yw JT and Chrystia!!

Canada’s Throne Speech – Sept 23 2020

written/text

For the past few months, I’ve been annoying you with my political views of the pandemic and BIPOC issues in Canada and the USA.

Well today, I see that my work as an advocate IRL and online on different sites has been put forward by the govt of my country!

WEEEE!! WOOP WOOP!! WEEEEEE!!

The focus of it was on the right things. Now all we need is a budget and a confidence vote to match up with this vision. I’m glad that the opposition parties aren’t really in a position to have an election. Though I can’t think why they would, since each of them got something they’ve been saying they want in it.

Sooo….. we’ll see?

Nice to have a govt that listens though! Really nice!

What do the rest of my fellow cannucks think? Progress or not?

Study by ACLED on the BLM Protests Says They Were @95% Non-Violent

Despite Trump’s efforts and those of outside instigators, it seems the points of the protestors were made in a peaceful fashion. And would more likely than not all have been, if storm troopers and racist thugs hadn’t intruded.

As it was, those who intruded on the protests caused damage to property so the protestors would be blamed, killed and injured protestors, injured medics and media.

And as far as i can see? They didn’t fool a soul but themselves.

…….

Between 24 May and 22 August, ACLED records more than 10,600 demonstration events across the country. Over 10,100 of these — or nearly 95% — involve peaceful protesters. Fewer than 570 — or approximately 5% — involve demonstrators engaging in violence. Well over 80% of all demonstrations reported during this period are connected to the Black Lives Matter movement or the COVID-19 pandemic.
ACLED
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED).

…..

Despite that peace, and the legal right to protest, Amnesty Int’l documented 125 incidents of police brutalith against the protestors.
map

…….

The First Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
loc
Law Library of Congress

……..

ACLU- your rights
American Civil Liberties Union

Building Community Instead of Separating Families : The New Abolition

There are a lot more ways to reduce crime than there are to get rid of prisons, policing, immigration detention or Child Protection Services (CAS). And most of those ways involve community -building and supporting the family as a unit. Rather than tearing those down and putting in a system that is racist and a new(ish) form of slavery. The only ones who are profit(eer)ing from this system are businesses. Not the country, not it’s people and most certainly not those who are incarcerated. All that really happens to them is they get treated like an indentured servant for the duration of their sentence, and they better learn how to be a criminal. And they get bitter and angry.

So why not try something different? If greed is the only need that is met by the current system, why do we continue it?

• For the poor, find social funds and programs to mitigate this and help them learn what it takes to at least cope in our society.
• For the survivors of harm, find a way to access recovery services and heal their addictions (self-care).
• For the victims of colonization, find ways to empower their lives and communities.
• And since racism and bigotry are the base reason these systems exist, then refocus, retrain or disband them. Because in an enlightened world, this is just not acceptable, is it?

Because of the pandemic, now more than ever, we need to reduce any system that is a congregant setting. And each of these relies on just that. So we need to think about this hard and fast. BEFORE the second wave is officially here.

……. resources

Rxadvocacy- Interview with Elizabeth Fry
What is Elizabeth Fry? Began in 1969

…… Abolition Thoughts

We are not doing nearly enough to address the root causes of poverty, addiction, homelessness, and mental-health crises, abolitionists contend, and criminalizing poverty through harsh fines and debt regulation; criminalizing addiction through drug laws; criminalizing homelessness by conducting sweeps of people sleeping in parks; and criminalizing mental illness by turning prisons into de facto psychiatric hospitals is all treating the symptom instead of the disease. This is one of the key differences between reform and abolitionism: The former deals with pain management and the latter with the actual source of the pain.Abolitionists, therefore, share an idea—a vision—more than a structure: a future in which vital needs like housing, education, and health care, are met, allowing people to live safe and fulfilled lives—without the need for prisons.
According to abolitionists, many of the reasons people end up coming into contact with law enforcement can be solved through more humane means. Decriminalizing mental-health episodes, fighting homelessness, or decriminalizing drug use are three clear ways to keep people from getting pipelined towards prison. And for abolitionists, we don’t just stop at decriminalization: Adequately funding mental-health treatment, providing housing for those in need, and offering adequate rehabilitation services for people with substance dependence are all critical. As author Alex Vitale told me, “Housing-first initiatives for homeless people—that is police reform.”
source

……

While Aboriginal people make up about 4% of the Canadian population, as of February 2013, 23.2% of the federal inmate population is Aboriginal (First Nation, Métis or Inuit). There are approximately 3,400 Aboriginal offenders in federal penitentiaries, approximately 71% are First Nation, 24% Métis and 5% Inuit.

Since 2001, the federal Aboriginal inmate population has increased by 56 per cent.
• Aboriginal women represent 33 per cent of all women sent to federal institutions.
• 21 per cent of all Aboriginal offenders were 25 or younger.
• Aboriginal offenders make up almost half (47%) of the inmate population in the Prairies.

The Gladue factors include:

• Effects of the residential school system.
• Experience in the child welfare or adoption system.
• Effects of the dislocation and dispossession of Aboriginal peoples.
• Family or community history of suicide, substance abuse and/or victimization.
• Loss of, or struggle with, cultural/spiritual identity.
• Level or lack of formal education.
• Poverty and poor living conditions.
• Exposure to/membership in, Aboriginal street gangs
source

…..

The National Household Survey 2011 data approximates that nearly half of the foster children under age 14 in Canada are Indigenous. The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada estimates that Indigenous children comprise 30-40 percent of kids in care.
Manitoba’s numbers also show disproportionate representation of Indigenous children in out-of-home care. Indigenous children make up about 26 percent of the provincial child population, yet in 2014, Manitoba Family Services reported that nearly 90 percent of 10,000 kids in care were either First Nation, Metis or Inuit. And a new report from MCHP demonstrates that over one out of every five First Nations children in Manitoba spends some time in care before their 15th birthday.
source

……

Media Mogul Conrad Black: Advice for Canada’s New Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland

Media Mogul Conrad Black, in full Conrad Moffat Black, Lord Black of Crossharbour, (born August 25, 1944, Montreal, Quebec, Canada), who U.S. federal prosecutors charged with several counts of fraud, racketeering, and obstruction of justice has decided to tell Canada’s new finance minister how to do her job…. Do you think she should take his advice?

Let’s think: Oxford grad in business, Rhodes Scholar, finance critic/editor for major papers (yes I mean Freeland, not the ex-con)

Well? What is your decision?

……

britannica
guardian – Trump’s pal gets a pardon
national post
cbc

420, BIPOC Profiling – Gender and Race, Social Costs and Perceptions – If We Could Do One Thing Differently to Reform the Judicial System

You think a country is being really lax in it’s choice of whether or not cannabis should be legal or not. You worry about whether it’s a gateway to other worse drugs.
But what if I were to tell you that chosing to not prosecute cannabis crimes actually saves you enormous amounts of money that you could put toward the medical treatment and harm reduction of addicts that would be more likely to save lives and dollars?

Would you believe me? Well you should!

…..

costs of war on drugs, recidivism, harm reduction
the human cost
2015 US – total cost per inmate averaged $33,274

…..

Drug Offenses 67,816 46.2%
US Fed BOP
‘The typical woman in jail is poor, young, black, a single mother of two children, and a high school dropout. She has few job skills or experience, has a previous arrest record, abuses drugs or alcohol, and has extremely low self-esteem. Arrested for property crimes.’
ncjrs
prisonpolicy

…..

2018 – int’l per 100,000 pop

…..

225.27 drug-related offences per 100,000 residents nationwide in Canada in 2018.
statista
over 50% of reported incidents in relation to drug-related offences were for possession of cannabis.
sencanada
Oct 2018, 2019 legalized cannabis in Canada
justice. gc

…..

And that right there folks is why Justin Trudeau campaigned on legalizing marijuana in Canada. The costs of not doing so were stupid.

Idealist, Whistle Blower and Conspiracy Theorist Have a Chat With Us (a story/ish)

Would you believe they agree about the base thing?  They want the govt to do better. And then they part ways.The ✏️idealist✏️sits and dreams of a better world.  Writes a poem or a song.  And cries because he knows, he’ll never see that day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HNfWmwDM7U

The 💣whistleblower 💣goes hunting for that thing that is TNT, that he can pedal to the newspapers and other media.  The thing that proves this govt was bad all along. And revels in the fact when he finds it.  Because of course it exists!  There is always something to hide, after all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVNJ3lbgJmc

The ☠conspiracy theorist☠sees smoke and tells you of aliens 👽and demons 😈who have fogged our eyes 👁👀 so all we can see is smoke. He gets into a stir and can manage nothing but running around.  Not even convincing anyone what he says is true. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxGQ5qdW6mU

No one else 👫understands them, and they only half get each other. But they give each other space, so they can 🏌️‍♀️🏌️‍♂️💃express their emo state. And the world?  Well, it just moves on….🌎⚡🔥 Till it doesn’t.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whPzJbntlnY