When it comes to #reporting on #NorthAmerica’s #OverdoseCrisis — the worst in our history — #misleading articles can increase #stigma against people who use #drugs, skew the public’s understanding of the issue, inspire #BadFaith policy and make it more difficult for other #journalists to gain the trust and respect of #MarginalizedCommunities.

Which brings me to a splashy, new piece of drug #journalism from U.K.-based newspaper the Telegraph, falsely claiming that #decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of drugs “made #Vancouver the #fentanyl capital of the world.”

The Telegraph’s story, like others before it, makes a number of other #misleading claims, including stating that #SafeSupply programs, which provide pharmaceutical alternatives to street drugs, are making the situation worse because that supply is being sold to street users, including young people. Some safe supply is being diverted, but there is no evidence that it’s led to more deaths or teens forming new addictions.

Reporting like this misses important context about the #DrugCrisis, allowing #politicians to drum up fear about #HarmReduction rather than confront how decades of #prohibition have impacted the current #FentanylCrisis. After the 2010s crackdown on prescription pain pills, many people dependent on #opioids turned to heroin instead. Eventually, #DrugTraffickers began cutting heroin with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times stronger, that is also cheaper and simpler to make and smuggle.

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/fearmongering-about-drug-dens-is-making-canadas-crisis-worse/article_3cb43484-444e-11ef-90b0-a7fbb265a168.html

#CDNpoli #BCpoli #BreakTheStigma #AddictionEducation #Fearmongering #StopStigmatizingAddiction #Health #Medical #HealthPolicies #MediaManipulation #BreakStatusQuo #FundTreatmentServices #FundHealthCare #FundMedicalServices #CommunityHealth