Lori Hatfield deserved better from committee
By Letter to the Editor on June 2, 2021.
Editor:
Lori Hatfield is a Lethbridge citizen speaking up on behalf of 2,000 mothers who support decriminalization of drugs and safe supply.
It takes courage to go before a city council committee and present a point of view.
In Edmonton when a similar resolution around harm reduction was put before a city council committee, 18 speakers spoke to the topic, including a medical doctor and a public health expert. The motion was passed by Edmonton city council.
Hatfield was the only presenter in Lethbridge and was grilled with medically related questions.
She was prepared to consult with experts to get answers and bring those back to committee.
It is disappointing that the Lethbridge committee were not open to further input.
Instead they closed their minds and the door on further discussion. Shame.
Tuezday Kabel
Lethbridge
-1
In reality she should have come more prepared with facts and detail.
Again, what surrounds drug/opiate addiction, i.e. poverty, crime, long term illness, unplanned pregnancies….is very costly to society, not only socially, but financially. Since, again, money talks, this might be an apt read:
“Decriminalizing Drugs Saves Lives — Here’s How It Works, Yes, even for heroin.”
http://www.medium.com/entheogen/decriminalizing-drugs-saves-lives-heres-how-it-works-23e7552adc29
MSTH has a very narrow point of view on the topic of drugs. In fact they all assume they are pro’s because they lost someone close to them or knew someone who lost someone to drugs.
So its a crusade by MSTH. It does not surprise me that Lori Hatfield showed up with little supporting evidence or without more qualified people in tow.
When you support a failed system that continues to fail, you assume that its better to just bypass the system by making all drugs safe and available and in the end, I am sure they would prefer free.
The fact is that society does not owe an Addict a thing, period. An addict made his or her choice in life and must live with the consequences or choose to rehab. It is not societies responsibility to do anything for an addict while he/she chooses to continue to be an addict.
Of course MSTH uses the atypical drop terms associated with what they hear, ie drugs are more addictive then they were years ago, its the pharmaceutical companies fault, its “everyones fault except the addict, the addict has no fault”! So if its not the addicts fault it must be societies and they should look after the addict. The addict has no stake in this at all according to most MSTH. The only real thing an addict must do is to let someone know day or night that they would like to rehab and then Lordy Lordy society better have a bed open for that person at that moment because the addict may change his/her mind, and then its societies failure on not ensuring that on his/her every whim, WE ARE READY!
Addicts that make a snap decision to rehab are more likely to fail then those who have given deeper thought to it. Those that have given deeper thought to it still fail at a rate that exceeds 98% after two years of “surveillance”.
So the logic that Society must snap to attention when an addict speaks of rehab just does not sit well with the “society that knows the success rate of a poorly designed system”.
So those that support this system (those that financially benefit to the tune of billons) prefer it to remain. MSTH thinks tweaking a failed system is better than a wholesale change where 100% of the responsibility is on the addict. Society tends to differ.
When groups like MSTH speak, they believe they should be listened too, when they ask for something and provide no supporting evidence, they feel slighted as if they speak for “the masses”, they do not. MSTH speaks for 2000 mothers, I believe I speak for more than 2 million+ people in Alberta.
“Albertans are always willing to help, however, they believe as I do, which is there are no free rides in life, and if you want a free ride, you should perhaps move to a province who believes in free rides. Although to be frank I am unsure which province that would be.”
If an Addict wishes to rehab, he should have to show the same fortitude as a person who wants a stomach bypass because they want to lose weight. Show Alberta you want to quit, do the HARD WORK on getting off drugs at the onset and Alberta will be here for you if you do.
Knock on Alberta’s door at 2am because you had a bad trip and “think you need a break” ,well, don’t expect Alberta to answer the door! Then at 7AM don’t complain to people like MSTH that “society missed its opportunity to help” so I am going back to drugs! If you are going back to drugs at 7AM you weren’t serious at 2AM so DON’T KNOCK ON THE DOOR until you are!
Pretty simple, really, its not rocket science. If you don’t want to do the hard work associated with rehab and demonstrate that you are serious by starting the process on your own….don’t knock on the Alberta Door! Stay an addict, and take your chances, but don’t blame society for your short comings!