NDP MPP Chris Glover hosted a panel of experts on the addictions crisis, focused on fentanyl — an opioid that's much cheaper and far more potent than heroin, which is commonly added to or sold as less potent opioids, leading to overdoses.
Panelists included psychiatrist Dr. Leslie Buckley, head of the addictions division at the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH); Marcell Wilson, the founder of the anti-gang <a href="https://www.theonebyonemovement.com/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One By One Movement</a>; Kim Curry, the director of homelessness organization Seeds of Hope; and Tony and Joanne, two people with lived experience.
Panelists said the drug is like nothing else that's come before it, and that pathways to treatment are few and far between. What's needed, they said, is a safe, government-controlled supply of opioids to avoid accidental overdoses; more treatment beds; and more affordable housing.
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Buckley said old opioid treatment methods often don't work with fentanyl because the withdrawals are so strong.
"This isn't your parents' substance. This is a new level of power," Buckley said during the panel on Nov. 3.
Wilson, a former gang member and dealer who has recovered from his opioid addiction, said the pain of withdrawal is "almost indescribable."
"I've been shot, I've been stabbed, I've been through almost every type of physical violence you can think of," he said, noting that he used pills, which are less intense than shooting up. "It was completely the worst and most pain that I've ever experienced in my life.
"To me, at certain points, suicide was the only option."
Curry said she knows three people who have died from COVID-19 and over 150 people who have died from the opioid crisis.
She said one of her "biggest frustrations" is that there are so many people who want help but not enough resources to get them that help. It's "almost impossible" to find detox spots, and never immediate, she said.
Rehab programs need to change, she said, noting that if patients leave, they can't get back in. "So for people to have to sit in that, and go through that ... and for five bucks for all that pain to go away, it's preposterous," she said.
The Progressive Conservative government has promised to spend $1.9 billion over 10 years on mental health and addictions, matching a federal commitment. Its strategy focuses on rehabilitation, which some critics say <a href="https://www.qpbriefing.com/2020/06/23/as-overdose-deaths-spike-ontarios-top-doctor-says-the-opioid-crisis-is-complicated-advocates-disagree/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ignores science-based harm reduction</a> measures.
Wilson said gang members often turn to fentanyl to numb the pain from the trauma and PTSD of their lifestyle, which also contributes to the cycle of addiction and crime. Most people who hit "rock bottom" find that there aren't enough resources available to help them, he said. And they can't work in the meantime, meaning they feel discouraged and lean further into their addiction.
Tony, who has lived on the streets, brought up the term "hot shot" — which refers to intentionally giving someone a lethal dose of fentanyl or other opioids. It's an easy to hide a murder, he said.
Lots of people have given up, Tony said. He spoke of one 25-year-old person who uses opioids.
"He said, 'I give up. I'm gonna be gone in three months anyway, at the most,' you know. It's sad to year from young people that have a life to live that they've just given up."
He said Ontario should place more of an emphasis on safer supply — like methadone, an opioid used in maintenance therapy — which he said could stop up to 90 per cent of the deaths happening right now.
"You don't see any methadone gangs running around," he said.
Wilson agreed, citing the Portugal model of decriminalizing drugs in 2001, which led to a dramatic <a href="https://time.com/longform/portugal-drug-use-decriminalization/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decrease</a> in crime and death.
"That's the only way to get the money and violence and gangs out of the picture," Tony said, adding that resources saved battling crime could be put toward treatment.

‘This isn’t your parents’ substance’: Chris Glover hosts panel on fentanyl crisis

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