Drug decriminalization in BC reduced police encounters for drug possession, with no changes in drug-related deaths
www.eurekalert.org
British Columbia’s drug decriminalization policy was associated with a substantial decrease in police encounters for drug possession, while neither decriminalization nor the subsequent partial recriminalization was associated with detectable changes in deaths due to drug toxicity or drug-related hospitalizations, found new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.260038.
    • Pxtl@lemmy.caEnglish
      5·
      8 days ago

      The medical problem is downstream of economics. Housing Theory of Everything applies:

      High barriers to housing construction cause housing shortages.

      Housing shortages cause high rents.

      High rents cause homelessness.

      Homelessness causes drug addiction.

      Drug addiction causes overdoses.

      • Arfrar@lemmy.world
        4·
        8 days ago

        Except for all the empty houses.

        High barrier to housing access is not due to construction regulations, just another symptom of capitalism.

        • Pxtl@lemmy.caEnglish
          1·
          7 days ago

          Every study that’s been tried says that empty houses are overstated. I’m all for the socialist approach of taxpayer-funded government builders, but fundamentally you can’t escape the actual cost of manpower and materials and wasted time caused by municipal barriers to housing.

          Like, it looks like there’s a zillion things under construction, but those are late in the massive lead-time of building. People inside the homebuilding industry say that the start of the pipeline has nothing coming, so in like 5 years we’re going to be right back to “everything is expensive and nothing is under construction to solve that problem”. And the reason for that is costs - the same costs that a government builder would face. Municipalities sucking up the productive effort into fees and obstructionism and delay.

      • rozodru@piefed.worldEnglish
        3·
        8 days ago

        thank you.

        Addiction is a symptom of Homelessness just like mental health. We need a housing first initiative with needs based assistance but I don’t see that happening in my life time.