In the mind of addictions expert Shanell Twan, when it comes to the opioid crisis, the time to act has already passed.
“Every couple of hours, we're losing young Canadians,” she said. “Some significant actions need to be taken.”
Twan, who is an outreach worker and board member of the Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs, is among a handful of experts who will be tackling the opioid crisis in Alberta on April 8 at the University of Alberta’s chancellor’s forum.
Currently two Albertans die every day from fentanyl poisoning, with 746 people dying in 2017. Across Canada, 11 people will die from fentanyl overdose each day.
With the crisis only getting worse, Twan said the province needs to rethink the way it approaches drug use in Alberta.
In her opinion, that means potentially decriminalizing all illicit drugs.
“That would probably be the best-case scenario, because as it sits right now, it's actually the drug dealers who regulate the market.,” she said.
Fellow panellist Donald MacPherson, executive director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, said he also feels existing drug policies need to be reviewed.
“This is the worst overdose crisis in the history of our country,” he said.
MacPherson, who is the author of Vancouver’s Four Pillars Drug Strategy, said drug addictions are public and social issues, which won't be solved through the justice system.
As to why people develop addictions, both Twan and MacPherson say the reason is wide, sweeping and complex. Twan, who works on the front lines with people who use drugs, said the most important thing to know is that every person has a story.
“People have experienced trauma, they've experienced discrimination, they've experienced stigma,” she explained.
The forum will allow each of the five panellists to present in a question-and-answer format.
Donna Richardson, director of marketing and alumni relations at the University of Alberta, said the chancellor’s forum started in 2018. The free event is an opportunity to engage with the community on various issues facing society.
Shanthi Johnson, dean of the School of Public Health, said in an emailed statement that in hosting the event, the department was playing a “key role in addressing the issue by working together with colleagues in multiple sectors, such as law enforcement, health care, and others to get at the underlying issues and prevent further harm.”
For more information about the upcoming forum, visit: https://www.ualberta.ca/why-ualberta/administration/chancellor-and-senate/senate/what-we-do/chancellors-forum.
