By Justine Kelsie

Advocacy group looking for federal involvement in opioid crisis

Feb 2, 2018 | 12:04 PM

Moms Stop The Harm (MSTH) is pushing for federal involvement in the opioid crisis. 

The group advocates for those impacted by drug use and a few members were able to stop in to speak to the Prime Minister at the Town Hall in Edmonton on Thursday. They asked Justin Trudeau if more could be done for people across the country. 

“We need the national support. It is a [national] epidemic that is going on. It is not just my community or my province – it is all across – it is a national level that things are happening. There are way too many people dying on every level. Locally, provincially, nationally, this opioid epidemic is all across our country and we can’t ignore that fact,” said Tyla Savard, an MSTH member from Grande Prairie. 

Locally, there is the Mayor’s Opioid Task Force that was launched in December 2017 and in the province, there is the Minister’s Opioid Emergency Response Commission. The advocacy group would like to see a similar commission built on the federal level with a response similar to what has been done with H1N1 virus and AIDS in the past. 

“Stats show that the opioid epidemic is showing to be much worse than those epidemics were. We are trying to bring it forward to get the attention that we need to have such iniatives in place. We need to have the people who have the lived the experience working alongside workers,” said Savard.

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Decriminalization other than cannabis is NOT on the agenda. Trudeau was asked about the issue during a town hall at MacEwan University in Edmonton Thursday by Petra Schulz, who lost her 25-year-old son Danny to a fentanyl overdose in 2014. "Can you commit to a national strategy and a significant investment that is equal to what was spent on H1N1, for example, on a per-patient, per-person basis?" Schulz asked. "And will you commit to exploring decriminalization as one way to make sure we see substance use as a health issue and not a criminal matter?"

A post shared by Moms Stop The Harm (@momsstoptheharm) on Feb 1, 2018 at 10:59pm PST

Decriminalization was also a topic of discussion at the Town Hall. There was confusion on the PM’s part as to what was meant, according to Savard. 

“People only have a small amount for their personal use – just to keep them out of the legal system. There are too many people using alone and dying alone.”

During the Edmonton event, the Prime Minister said the federal government will not be moving to decriminalize anything other than marijuana. 

“Not focusing on decriminalizing—but focusing on treatment, harm reduction, and support. Decriminalizing harder drugs is not a step that Canada is looking to take at this point,” said Trudeau.

MSTH lobbies the government with other initiatives including the “Do Something Prime Minister Photo Campaign”. Savard explains there is an online community for those dealing with addictions and those who are impacted by drug use as well. 

“Keep in mind that everyone is somebody’s someone, we need to reduce that stigma.”

Edmonton Town Hall meeting: It is not easy to show up at public events and let it be known that your loved one died a drug related death. We acknowledge and respect that it is not for everyone, particularly in the early stages of mourning and/ or when ones own mental or physical health is compromised. But those who came out to the Town Hall meriting to speak with @justinpjtrudeau felt called to do so and answered that call for their own loss and the thousands of other Canadians affected by drug related deaths. Thankyou for supporting MSTH efforts today. We know other msth members would like to have been at the gathering today. We are thankful for your support and the ‘presence’ of your/ our loved ones. Rome wasn’t built in a day and we will continue to advocate for change and responsibility at the federal level.#momstoptheharm #opioidcrisis #dosomethingpm

A post shared by Moms Stop The Harm (@momsstoptheharm) on Feb 2, 2018 at 7:50am PST