Debunking “safe supply” with solutions

Dr. Somers shared his life’s research on solutions to these rising, grim overdose statistics at a public event Oct. 26/22 in Vancouver.

With BC holding the highest number of overdose deaths in Canada, Somers takes aim at this current government’s failed approach, criticizing calls for a public supply of addictive drugs, (aka “safe supply”) as the cure. “The numbers say more about the abysmal performance of our Public Service than they do about the people affected.”

When presented with powerful results from Dr. Somers’ research, the BC Government directed him to “destroy an internationally unique database” capable of revealing the failures of government spending. Somers explains that those calling for a public supply of addictive drugs include investors and researchers with conflicts of interest.

He’s not alone in his criticism of “safe supply”. Global medical experts and Stanford University scholars with the Stanford Lancet Commission recently analyzed the crisis of poisonings in Canada and the U.S. “The very policies they singled out for skepticism: trying to create an alternative pharmaceutical supply of drugs, installing vending machines to dispense drugs and paraphernalia happen to be at the top of BC’s current agenda.”

Another BC addictions expert, Dr. Launette Rieb, told the 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘭 that despite anecdotal evidence, no existing evidence suggests that “safe supply” reduces fentanyl usage or deaths, adding: “‘Safe supply’ is a misnomer. It is not treatment and it is an unproven intervention.”

Moreover, dispensing addictive drugs comes with well-established medical risks such as infections of the heart and spinal column, Rieb noted.

Somers’ solutions research confirms:

• Addiction cannot be affected by disrupting the supply of drugs.
• Instead, we need to address the conditions that create demand for drugs, including unemployment, homelessness and lack of meaning in life.
• Recovery-oriented housing is key, proven by randomized trials that showed a 71% reduction in crime and a 50% reduction in medical emergencies in the first year of intervention.
• Major goals of those struggling with addictions included: resuming paid work, overcoming their addictions and reconnecting with children or other family members.