Another study will mean more people will die before supervised consumption site is opened

By medicinehatnews on June 17, 2019.

It seems to me a question of the supervised consumption site comes down to who has “skin in the game.” That is, those who have lost loved ones to addiction, those who are in active addiction and those who live in the downtown core close to where the site location is. 

There are those of us who know about active addiction because we have watched friends die over the years and seen their pain. We have prayed and hoped for a supervised consumption site in Medicine Hat just like we had prayed and hoped for something like the recovery centre in Medicine Hat. 

It seems silly to pretend that we all do not know someone in active addiction that won’t benefit from the site. We all know that people will die as there is yet one more study. 

It is politics that is keeping the supervised consumption site from happening. It is the system and it is the only one we have. It will be hard to tell the families of the people who die in our city that this is the way the system works and the review was needed. 

However the majority of Albertans voted for this new government, and it is the way the system works. We will sign the petitions, we will yell and scream. People will die in our streets, in our parks, in their homes, and they will die alone.  

I remember advocating at least 20 years for the recovery centre to finally be built in Medicine Hat. I wonder how long it will take for a safe consumption site to be available here? 

Diane MacNaughton
Medicine Hat

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