Don’t Judge People Addicted to Opioids, Canada’s Health Minister Says

Canada's new health minister has some advice for Canadians who still think it's cool to judge people struggling with opioid addiction.

"It's easy to judge, it really is, until you're someone personally affected by this situation. Many times we just don't realize these people have a story," Ginette Petitpas Taylor told CBC News. "They're our loved ones and they have families."

Canada's current opioid crisis is claiming thousands of lives each year, with numbers only rising as we near the end of 2017. In BC, a public health emergency was declared last year—a move no other Canadian province has yet to match, despite persistent urging from health and harm reduction professionals. Currently, there are 11 supervised drug consumption sites—and a number of unofficial ones—operating in Canada to prevent overdose deaths.

"I think, my personal view, it depends on where you live. I know that coming from the Maritimes, probably, the reality really hasn't hit there yet," Petitpas Taylor, who is from New Brunswick, said. "When I was out in Kelowna, BC, it was something they talk about regularly."

BC, particularly Vancouver, is known as a ground zero of sorts for Canada's opioid crisis, whereas the other side of the country, the East Coast, is regarded as being less affected.

Petitpas Taylor also referenced how access to treatment for people suffering from opioid addiction is a crucial part of addressing Canada's opioid crisis.

She said talks are finally coming to a close and "the money will be rolling out to the provinces very soon."

From my POV, it probably shouldn't take the minister of health essentially telling you not to be an asshole for you to figure out that opioid addiction doesn't negate someone's humanity or indicate moral failing. But while we continue to criminalize people with legitimate health problems as thousands die across the country every year, destigmatization of people who use drugs will remain a barrier to progress.