Pubdate: Sat, 10 Jun 2017
Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB)
Copyright: 2017 The Edmonton Journal
Website: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134
Author: Yulia Kontos
Page: A12

ADDRESS ROOT CAUSES OF DRUG ABUSE

People do not just wake up one day and decide, "I am going to become a
drug user."

There are social causes that bring about drug use which need to be
dealt with in order to reduce this problem. Drug use is more prevalent
among people who are disadvantaged. If we really want to stop this
epidemic of opioid overdose, there needs to be public policy in place
that will lessen the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged people
in order to stop drug use before it starts.

Also, there needs to be policy in place that will help current drug
users stay safe.

An important step that Edmonton has made is the decision to create
safe injection sites in the city, which is a major step toward
decreasing deaths from overdose.

This is a problem that cannot be solved by targeting individual
people, but rather by targeting broader public policy.

Yulia Kontos, Edmonton
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