@mattelrod.bsky.social
Reclusive Canadian audiophile, poetic naturalist, veteran drug policy reform activist, library cataloguer, programmer and webmaster. Born to be mild. https://elrod.ca/matt/ https://www.chess.com/member/melrod42 https://lichess.org/@/Grasshopper62
"Conclusions: The adoption of RCLs in US states, beyond only MCLs, may help to reduce the size of illegal cannabis markets, or there may be shifting law enforcement seizure priorities in those states."
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
"Ward is critical of the provincial government for framing the crisis as an “addiction” problem. If the problem is framed this way, then it can be “solved” by offering treatment, she said. But it’s not that simple, Ward said."
"What I have learned is that involuntary treatment for adults with substance use disorders is necessary in extreme cases, but it does not outperform voluntary care and raises serious concerns about patient safety."
BC knew that just 0.3% of drugs seized in Vancouver by weight were hydromorphone.
"Rather than publicize the evidence to correct loud claims of diversion flooding communities, the BC government opted to sit on the information and retreat from safe supply."
@godfrey.bsky.social reports:
"If the measure of success is whether life became safer and less punitive for people who use drugs, British Columbia’s decriminalization pilot was a clear win. But the B.C. government doesn’t seem to think so."
New edition of Cultural Baggage with guests Eric Sterling and Sanho Tree @sanho.bsky.social
drugtruth.net/node/10627
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"Every SSDP member who purchased a ticket to attend the 2026 SAM Good Drug Policy Summit — including scientists, mental health professionals, and policy experts — was denied registration."
ssdp.org/blog/breakin...
"The only people, frankly, benefiting from the current model are organized crime and some of these private residential treatment centres who are charging exorbitant amounts ..."
"This analysis of drug harms in Canada found that alcohol causes the most harm overall, with a cumulative weighted score of 79. It was followed by tobacco (45), nonprescription opioids (33), cocaine (19), methamphetamine (19), and cannabis (15)."
"“Recovery-oriented” and “compassionate intervention” may appear to be desirable approaches on the surface, but these policies ignore the needs of communities, create barriers to care and limit the ability of adults to make their own decisions about their health."
"Participants in a SOS program experienced significant reductions in non-fatal overdose during the 6 months following program initiation."
"[People who inject drugs] in states with recreational cannabis laws were less likely to use opioids daily. Cannabis legalization may potentially reduce opioid-related harms."
"We need to have an adult conversation about drugs, beginning with the observation that mind-altering substances, like opium, peyote and alcohol have been used for thousands of years and will continue to be used by some no matter how hard we wish it were otherwise."
"A new study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy followed 100 SOS participants in southwestern Ontario and found an extreme reduction in overdose risk."
One lesson to learn is that most drug consumers aren't homeless and don't need treatment. Treatment isn't an alternative to harm reduction.
"... join us for an in-depth conversation to explore how Lapointe’s perspective on the unregulated drug crisis evolved in her role, the tension between evidence-informed expert recommendations and government policy choices ..."
"Host Maria Kestane speaks to Dimitra Panagiotoglou, the Canada Research Chair in the Economics of Harm Reduction and associate professor at McGill, to discuss her recent study on the relationship between crime associated with supervised consumption sites ..."
On this edition of Century it’s part two of my conversation with @sanho.bsky.social. We discuss US foreign policy and drug war history, social media, and marijuana rescheduling.
kboo.fm/media/131425...
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"This ecological cohort study found that the association between Toronto’s OPS/SCS and crime was generally neutral to beneficial."
"Nicolas Maduro and his wife will also be tried for trafficking cocaine, which wouldn’t qualify as a legal pretext for the invasion even if the courtroom were run by Judge Pam Bondi ..."
open.substack.com/pub/dgardner...
Contested framing of cannabis legalization policy in Ontario: A thematic content analysis of newspaper coverage
