Nicky Mehtani

BREAKING: Compassion clubs could be the solution we’re looking for! Long 🧵incoming… This is BIG NEWS! When I talk about the need for a regulated drug supply, people always ask me what widespread distribution of safer drugs could look like. Would we sell measured doses of clean cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, meth at a corner store, with only ID requirements to stop kids from trying them? (Or “hand out fentanyl to children” as critics like to claim?) NO, OF COURSE NOT. These are powerful and dangerous substances. Would we sell them at government distribution branches, like alcohol, and collect high taxes to fund prevention, treatment and recovery? Maybe, although the risk of attracting new users seems high (but it would also help prevent deaths of recreational drug users). One model that has great promise, and worked for cannabis before it was legalized, is the compassion club model. Access is membership-only for people with diagnosed substance use disorder. A variety of clean, unadulterated drugs that meets members’ needs is sold to them in measured doses. The club provides additional harm reduction services like clean supplies and supervised consumption. There’s little risk of children accessing the club or the drugs. There was only one compassion club operating like this in B.C., run by DULF in the DTES for just over a year. Unfortunately, it was raided and shut down last fall after a series of politically motivated accusations by MLA @ElenoreSturko (who ironically, is BC’s shadow minister for Mental Health & Addictions 🙄) But at least we now have academic research from its operation that shows a compassion club model CAN WORK! 🎉🎉🎉 A new peer-reviewed study by DULF and researchers from BCCSU and UBC — published in the International Journal of Drug Policy — found: ▶️ No one died of drug poisoning while they were participating members of the club. 👊🏼👊🏼 ▶️ Non-fatal drug poisonings were cut in half 👊🏼👊🏼 ▶️ Non-fatal poisonings involving naloxone were reduced by nearly two-thirds.👊🏼👊🏼 About half the members admitted to sharing their drugs with non-members at least once during the 12-month study period. (This is the evil “diversion” of CLEAN DRUGS (that contain no FENTANYL, XYLAZINE & BENZOS) so often blamed for the entire TOXIC DRUG crisis, which is totally illogical … but I digress). The reasons they shared included: ▶️ The non-member they shared drugs with was in pain or withdrawal ▶️ The non-member was unable to access a safe supply ▶️ To help a friend/acquaintance/partner be safe Sounds like more memberships were needed. In less than two weeks, on March 7 & 8, there will be a judicial review of Health Canada’s 2022 decision to deny DULF the exemption to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which would allow them to operate a compassion club without breaking the law. Fingers crossed the court understands the issue and agrees there is a need. STAY TUNED! Link 🔗sciencedirect.com/science/ar… #ToxicDrugCrisis #HarmReduction #SaferSupply #DULF #CompassionClub #BCpoli #CanPoli

#BREAKING: New research on involuntary treatment for Substance Use Disorder finds forcing people into treatment to promote abstinence … DOESN’T WORK. Within the first two months after discharge, 96.4% of the 1,083 participants had relapsed. Recovery is HARD. For treatment to work, you have to want it. I went to treatment and recovery voluntarily more than 12 times, it took me roughly 26 years to accomplish my first year of sobriety … and I relapsed again after that. Lucky for me, the drugs were not as contaminated, unpredictable and deadly as they are today. So I got that time I needed to figure it out! Treatment and recovery programs are crucial, but they can’t be forced and they aren’t the only solution. Read the research here 🔗: sciencedirect.com/science/ar… #BCpoli #ToxicDrugCrisis #HarmReduction #Treatment #Recovery