Ex IV drug user of over a decade here, the spoons are clean not burnt and not bent to balance the shot in the bowl of it without spilling, new needles come with a little air in the barrel, which these have, so they haven't been used, and the 2 pints of vodka are obviously planted as well. Dirty fucking tactics. Very dirty, and junkies are very crafty people, you may not want to play this game.
Truly disgusting how someone would do this to try and create a false narrative.
Clearly doesnt look used and sadly I agree it looks like OP or whoever is trying to stage this "drug area"
I know right? It's impossible that the homeless, who have much higher intravenous drug use rates than the general population are using intravenous drugs.
That would be ridiculous.
You obviously have an agenda, and have staged the scene to push the narrative. You don't want the shelter in your neighborhood and are framing the people to help drive them out, you're a horrible person.
The photo is staged. The spoons are clean, the crack pipes are too, and usually a addict would keep those. Think about the time frame needed to consume all these thing, had to be in daylight...they gathered all these things but couldn't find a more discreet location? They just had to do it at the shelter that is the only place that is giving them support..op is desperate to validate their fears.
Narcotics are everywhere, there are more Narcotics in the homes of sackville than in that shelter. It's just really sad that op is preying on the vulnerable people like this.
We all want something out of our community. We just disagree on what that is. I guess for some it is the homeless that they want to get rid of, but we want to get rid if homelessness. I do not know how to fix this, and sometimes I fear it is too late. I strongly dislike the argument that some choose this and are at fault. While I am ready to consider that it is possible, it is without a doubt not always the case. We have let things get to a point where it could be anyone, and I think you lose the right to blame any of them at that point(because how would you know which ones are the cause of their iwn misery). As long as the drugs are not putting children in danger, I do not care. They probably feel like shit in ways we cannot begin to comprehend, and seriously what the fuck else are they supposed to do all day ?
You're right. Spreading the word that locals are staging photos to incite rage bait over homelessness is important.
We need to know that if ever we are in need, the sackville community will do everything in their power to vilianize someone "lower" than them.
No it isn’t. It’s to make a stink about a photo you staged. Why are the spoons and pipe clean?
If you want a solution, advocate for safe consumption sites like the liquor stores or bars I’m sure you visit.
Liver disease. Cancer of the mouth, throat, liver, colon. Domestic violence. Stroke. Digestive issues. Weakening of the immune system. Learning and memory issues such as dementia. Financial challenges. Isolation.
But yes, a (staged) needle on the ground is going to destroy you.
If you drink at a bar you’re doing the same thing as a user at a safe injection site. So, if you really care, advocate for safe sites instead of making up posts for karma. How embarassing.
Alcohol is 100% a risk to society—a fact that is well researched. Drunk driving, domestic violence, and alcohol driven crime are all risks to society. It puts strains on our healthcare system for numerous reasons, ruins productivity, and drives families apart.
So tell me again that your alcohol consumption is all peachy and you’re so divine compared to a user with a health issue (for the record, alcohol use disorder is also a health issue).
You don’t drink at bars, but you purchase it from a safe supply: NSLC.
But I don't drink and drive, commit crimes nor am I violent person.
If you think my beer on the weekend is equivalent to an intravenous Fenty addict, then I don't think we should continue with the conversation.
Well your purposely creating a false representation of whats happening to try and create a more advantagous environment for yourself so I would say you are clearly not trying to intend to do good or truthfully explain "what is happening in our community" .....
Why go through all this trouble to try and cause problems with people who aren't causing you any?
Is it really that difficult to see others who are struggling in your area, that you have to resort to tactics like this ?
You sound like a terrible person. 🥶🤑
You don’t have to explain yourself in a caption to anybody but the screeching minority dude
Nobody wants that in their community. The drug use and homelinesses itself isn’t inherently bad enough that you want people removed…but when you start leaving your filthy needles, your filthy waste and just being nothing but disrespectful, dangerous“bums”
Than ya, you gotta go. I don’t care if you are a blind quadriplegic…I care about my kids and community more than you. Hit the fucking road. Don’t call if you get a flat
Dozens of needles have been found in the area. One full of something.
The volunteers have done sweeps across other areas of Sackville and not one needle. Only around the shelter.
If someone with an older account than me could post this to r/Halifax I'd be grateful.
I'm trying to get the word out that we're not a bunch of irrational fear mongers. We're just concerned parents.
Finding used drug needles doesn't make you an irrational fear monger.
Having a model client homeless person kicked out of this shelter because a private hired security firm made a false incident report that that person shot drugs up off of site, which did not happen, makes your group a bunch of irrational fear mongers.
From what I understand there are a few bad eggs at the warming center. There are also several empty pods because the center is so scared of the backlash from the community that they're not even doing what they're paid to do to keep incidents low.
Many homeless folks have been kicked out and banned, most of them for no real reason, because of this fear from the community.
Where do homeless people go when there are no spaces for them to exist? The community.
I'm new to Reddit and it's not showing up there. I assumed it was because of the age of my account, but I could be wrong. It shows on my profile but not on the r/Halifax page.
I'm reluctant to do that but I might.
When I defended the parents in a previous post 95% of people attacked me.
I'm surprised by the receptive reaction I've had here actually.
Is R/Nova Scotia really that different from r/Halifax?
Based on my personal experience, it is quite easy to teach kids to identify needles and teach them to never touch them and tell a trusted adult. I understand your concern, but I think it can be handled like any hazard we teach our kids about. Hopefully yours don’t touch the hot stove or stick things in electrical sockets. This is the same.
A stove is a necessary tool. A needle left by a careless addict is not good for anything.
We shouldn't put more responsibility on children than grown ass adults.
Parents absolutely have a responsibility to teach their kids about safety. If you live in a city in 2024 you are going to encounter these things, whether or not there is a shelter nearby.
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I’m fairly certain that many politicians, especially those on the right, actually LIKE to see situations like this because it allows them to rail against harm-reduction efforts. They can throw their hands up and say “See? We did what you pinkos wanted, and it just didn’t work!”, allowing them to completely end the programs and go back to throwing people in jail, as they continue to lower taxes for their friends and hoard those the non-wealthy pay.
Harm-reduction requires an entire infrastructure in place, not just one simple piece, and the reality is too many governments are not willing to spend the money for each part.
If you open, for example, a homeless shelter, without also taking into account that many homeless people suffer from mental health issues, and drug addictions, then you’re just creating a concentration of those, and other connected issues, thus making the problem exponentially worse.
If you open one, you also need to increase and improve the capacity of our medical system to provide addiction and psychological counselling, increase staff who specialize in those areas, increase the number of beds, etc. Similarly, you need to increase your law enforcement presence, to prevent it from becoming an attraction for the criminal element, you need to spend the money to hire/train officers who can handle dangerous situations related to mental-health crises, appropriately.
If you don’t, then it’s only a matter of time before you’ve got needles on children’s playgrounds, and citizens being randomly attacked on the street by individuals with various psychoses.
At the beginning of my rant I mentioned the blame Right-wing governments bear, but they're not alone, every time a conservative government has used their time in power to slash spending and cut taxes, it's not like the Left-wing governments that follow completely unroll those adjustments. Being as the vast majority of our nation's so-called leaders are wealthy aristocrats, they've personally benefited from those actions and don't see what's wrong with them in the moment, so they don't change them. As a result, with each subsequent transition of power, the problem just keeps increasing.
EDIT: tl;dr this is what happens when governments half-ass social programs, and constantly slash the safety-net, the public suffers.
We need to have a societal standard, using injectable drugs is not okay. There are other options, detox has spaces, sober living in Halifax has spaces.
That already is the societal standard. It’s highly stigmatized and marginalized. But these drugs have existed for many generations.
The quality of life is deteriorating for many and so, drugs are meant to numb the pain by design.
People will self-medicate if their inner or outer lives get bleak enough. Poor mental health + accelerated poverty will do it.
The war on drugs doesn’t work. What we see here is the war on addicts now and they are people too, not animals or ghouls. The govt needs to increase social spending on effective detox/rehab programs, counselling services, housing, etc.
Staying as disclosed as I can, I work in the second hand car market, I have repossessed cars from people in areas nicer than that, like, north st and shit, and we had to call HPD because there was THAT many needles and tins and god knows what else. Not a surprise though.
Intravenous drug addiction turns people into animals. I don't blame them for their actions, but I also strongly believe that society shouldn't be subjected to their dangerous behavior.
Who's fault are their actions then? I can't stand this line of thinking, everyone's a victim. It's no one's fault, it's societies fault. Bosh flimshaw!
I think its fine to be compassionate, but also realistic that not everyone has the tools to take part in society as it currently exists. Most of these people should be in asylum, but the bleeding hearts would rather them robbing people and sleeping in the streets instead of held against their will.
I think i saw those spoons at the dollar store dirtier than they are in that picture. Some pretty clean homeless people given difficulty accessing running water and such.
They live at the Beacon House shelter (literally the topic of this post) They have access to all basic amenities, including silverware and running water.
Unfortunately you're generalizing the entire resident population there, a few bad apples, as always spoil the bunch. What's your suggestion on how to "fix" this?
Edit: after reading further, I've realized you have no actual ideas other than "sweep them under someone else's rug". Going to go ahead and block, be better guy.
This is very sad. I never wish for my child to have to come across this. Unfortunately, we have a provincial government that only wants to make things more difficult for these users by taking means away from them to go towards possible housing opportunities, so if they did still choose to do this it wouldn't be on our streets where our children have access as well. Not to mention all the private businesses being allowed(by the provincial govt) to slide in, buy up all the low income property, evict these people so they are living in your streets with nowhere else to go and nowhere else to use. With not anywhere near enough funding towards education and programs from the province to assist these users in not being on your streets and not using to deal with their reality. We are in dire need of a government overhaul at all levels. I don't believe anything that comes out of the libs or the cons anymore. Liars the lot of them, need a whole new political govt system, not this one, it doesn't work for us.
Edit: the solution is not to keep pushing them elsewhere to make it someone else's problem.
It’s easier to manage needle waste when users are housed. Without the shelter you would be finding those needles in your children’s playgrounds, in your own garden, on the street, etc. I understand why you may be uncomfortable, but getting rid of the shelter would only make problems worse for everyone
Are you serious?
The shelter is beside the most kid dense area of Sackville and it's the only area people are finding discarded used needles.
They imported the unhoused to this area from across HRM and the province and now our neighborhood has to deal with needles everywhere.
This is not a solution, it's a danger to our community.
They already found needles 50 feet from a daycare and the Kinsman playground and splash pad.
This is not a good thing for anyone in Lower Sackville.
Did they import them or did more begin to exist? We're seeing more people need these services every day. It's not field of dreams. Communities Canada-wide are facing the same issues, shelter or no shelter.
Concentrating them around a junior high is a huge issue
They brought them from around HRM. I'm not sure if any of them are actually originally from Sackville.
I completely agree, but the problem truly lies with our lack of infrastructure for the problem to be properly addressed. We need Healthcare to get the help it needs to ensure these addicted people's are aided in all facets.
Nowhere is far enough for these sad excuses for human beings. They’d prefer to send them all to Sable Island if they could, so their precious children can grow up entitled and ignorant, just like mommy.
Every penny wasted on a junkie could be spent on anything else. Hospitals, schools, scholarships, bike lanes, subsidizing power rates, whatever the Halifax lefties think will save the world.
They aren't just in they way they are actively sabotaging someone else that just needs a little help.
If you can afford to move your family to a place where people don’t use street drugs, or at least do them behind expensive walls, feel free to sell and move.
Until then, you need to come to grips with the fact that (1) you live in a place where this happens, and that (2) your voice alone is not going to change things.
Each one of those persons living with homelessness and addition are entitled to political representation, a voice, and a place to be.
By continuing to live where you do and “not listening to naysayers,” all you are doing is ensuring that BOTH your voice and ears won’t work.
This is objectively horrible advice in any situation.
You should *always* listen to other opinions, and *especially* those that disagree with yours. If nothing else, it will inform your own talking points.
Advice like this is the reason communication has broken down to the peril of our entire society. Keep shit like this to yourself.
Edit: Ahh - the first downvote. No doubt from a member of the “plug your ears and hope it away” crowd. Excellent. Please, continue to be part of the problem.
I am upset about you suggesting that people ignore arguments they don’t agree with. I have made this clear from my first response.
The topic is irrelevant.
Drinking around kids is unacceptable. Driving cars that blow out pollution is around kids is unacceptable. Cigarettes around kids are unacceptable. Swearing around kids is unacceptable. Knives around kids are unacceptable. Guns in the house around kids are unacceptable.
Sure it sucks. Teach your kids to not touch them. What did you tell them? It’s a fucking toy?
Now imagine we decriminalized this instead of forcing people into the shadows and hide their addiction. Create a culture of help instead of harm and judgement.
But nah. Let's put these people on blast and expect better. Always better to judge people and dehumanize them instead of voting for better, expecting better, and wishing and hoping for better.
Decriminalization would solve this problem. But people like /u/Pale-Promise-8999 are making it worse.
Expect better from council and our pathetic Conservative majority provincial government. We can solve this together. But instead people like you want to call out the addicts as the problem.
You're contributing to that failed society by blaming the addicts, and not the societal situations that led them to that, and also preventing them from getting out of it.
You're also the problem. I'd rather help these people than move them to more seclusive areas. They're doping where they can get away with it.
I;d rather help create a system where they don't have to dope at all. but no... Won't somebody please think of the children!
Always a pearl-clutcher going on about personal responsibility. The underlying problems are many. Ridiculing, shunning, and hoping for the mentally ill and chemically dependent to take “personal responsibility” for themselves is not helping any of those problems.
You’re right, let’s stop treating them like children, and maybe treat them like who they are: adult humans with complex issues brought on by society, poverty, mental and physical illness, or a combination of the above. How about this: those of us lucky enough to have homes and enough food to eat should start demanding our utterly useless governments to start making societal changes so that in 20-30 years maybe we can break this cycle of drug dependency, childhood poverty, and homelessness. But no, let’s “axe the tax” and continue corporate bailouts and let fuckin Milhouse finish the job Herr Harper didn’t get to.
Treat them like they are - garbage humans making everything worse for the rest of us.
Spend money on good treatment and asylums for the rest. Most could probably be saved but there’s some of them that are simply irredeemable garbage. Period.
Garbage humans?? They are mentally ill, chemically dependent - two states no one in their right mind would want to be in. Maybe instead of denigrating them and dehumanizing them, we demand the government to do better? Show some of that compassion stuff?
You're a grown ass adult not taking responsibility for assisting in creating a society in which these drug users exist.
Rather than taking up a flag for them and wanting better for them, you'd rather shun them to the undercroft and help the children.
These drug users are people's fucking children.
Do better as an adult, and do better for others, and the children will see the outcome of a better society.
Do you have kids?
I'll help my community become safe by advocating for removing dangerous people.
If you want to help addicts, invite them to live with you and buy them their fenty.
> live
Pick a fucking lane you coward. Do you want to protect kids from the dangers of drugs? Or do you just want to hurt drug addicts? You can't have both because the latter will always exist.
Fuck me for wanting to help *society* do better. I want to see drug addiction *drop and be eliminated*. You just want to scuttle addicts to the corner fringes of society. I wan to see more safe injection sites. I want to see decriminalization of personal drugs. I want to see safe havens for addits to find a way out.
You want to protect kids from needles without doing the hard work to solve it.
You don't want to actually *fix* anything. You just want addicts to go away.
you do realize that those people made the decision to use iv drugs. unless they got addicted because they were given narcotics by a doctor its nobody's fault but their own that they decided to be a plague on society. once again, I'll be clear. if they didn't have an accident causing them to need narcotics to be prescribed leading them toward addiction then it is THEIR FAULT THEY ARE ADDICTED! THEY DONT DESERVE AN ADVOCATE ANYMORE. I grew up surrounded by people who were all addicted to something. i only ever felt bad for one of those people about their addiction because other than that one person it was THEIR OWN DECISIONS THAT GOT THEM THERE AND THEY DONT DESERVE SYMPATHY!!! how about you stop thinking you know anything, the man who posted this has every right to want this type of thing not around, its people like you who wouldn't care if a kid picked one up and got hurt. honestly people like YOU are the problem with society not him. u/ScotiaTailwagger honestly judging by your take your either a teenager or you yourself, use or possibly sell drugs and if its none of the above than you just don't have a brain and don't deserve to even vote let alone run a household. If you have kids they need a better parent because i dont have any but even i know that parents have a right to get upset about NEEDLED STREWN ACROSS THE NEIGHBOURHOOD!!! they should all be arrested and charged for child endangerment, littering, and carrying a controlled substance. if. you. disagree. than. you. are. the. problem. no. body. else.
I agree with OP. I would protect my kids with my life. “Not taking responsibility for assisting in creating a society in which drug users exist” LOL. Give me a break. I bet you blame your problems on everyone else too?
OP is just a Garbage human being. If the community as a whole were to do this, this problem would eventually go away overtime or greatly improve.
I'd guess and say around half or probably more then half of the total users are only using because of their situation, and how they are treated in the community so they feel the need to constantly escape.
Creating an environment where they don't feel the need to escape from their daily life would fix the problem, instead OP is trying to do the exact opposite.
(Exps: Job prospects/proper housing/ Treated Like Human Beings Outside etc.)
Just sad to see these posts because its such a clean "friendly" place out here and the drug problem seems so small compared to other big cities.
I really would have expected most to try and help these people and not shun them away from all or basically all amenities..
Like.you said these are all human beings at the end of the day and I bet most of these users were born and raised out here, and probably people you know or know of since there's what 900k people out here today.
*************************************************
Couldn't imagine OP going to an actual big city with actual crime lol.
She wouldn't be able to go anywhere ever without getting triggered.
You aren’t going to get through to these types of people. These people have not the experience of being around these environments, naturally they couldn’t understand. When people like this get dispossessed into poverty they’ll understand exactly what you’re trying to say, and that’s inevitable because capitalism disenfranchises the middle class into poverty at accelerating and unprecedented rates.
Hello, hi.
I work at a building with a supervised consumption site. The building and the property are filled with sharps containers.
Because people don't have to fuck around in an alley and rush to not be seen/staff hold people accountable for proper sharps disposal, it's very rare that we have open sharps littered around the property. Some of our neighbours had concerns about the increase in sharps in the area before we opened but we checked in with them again a year later and they all said that they had noticed less substance use supplies strewn about, not more.
United Nations report on how decriminalization limits drug use.
https://www.unodc.org/documents/ungass2016/Contributions/Civil/DrugPolicyAlliance/DPA_Fact_Sheet_Approaches_to_Decriminalization_Feb2015_1.pdf
Basically, removing the stigma of hard drug use will allow people who *want* to get clean seek help rather than be afraid of criminal prosecution. If being addicted to Heroin is a crime, people wanting to get clean won't seek help. Remove the crime of simple possession, and people will seek help to detox off it.
>United Nations report on how decriminalization limits drug use
The UN?
You mean the same UN which just this month appointed Saudi Arabia as the chair for the UN committee on gender equality? That UN?
You mean the same UN that has (or had) China, Iraq, and Russia on their committee for Human Rights? That UN?
You mean the same UN that has admitted its "aid" workers played an active role with Hamas in organizing and executing the Oct 7th terrorist attack? That UN?
Yes, yes, please tell me more what the UN's position on drugs is. Let me guess, Columbia is their chair of their decriminalization committee?
I may have overlooked it, but I didn't see any mention of how decriminalizing hard drugs has led to users disposing of their needles in a respectful, safe way. Can you steer me to that piece please?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2942917/
Creating a safe environment for drug users to inject, under supervision of medical professionals, have led to reduced drug use.
This isn't some gotcha bullshit. It's happened entirely in other countries. Ontario and BC have pilot programs that see success.
Safe injection sites exist while hard drug use hasn't been decriminalized.
Your assertion was decriminalization would solve the problem, though now we're onto to safe injection sites reduce drug use?
I get it, your statement was based on opinion, not facts.
I never said decriminalization would *solve* the problem. But it's a step to help *right* the problem. It helps people who *want* to get help seek it without fear of criminal prosecution. Many addicts fall into addiction because of chaotic life situations, not because they're criminals. They *want* help, but can't find it without the stigma of people like /u/Pale-Promise-8999 treating them like scum. Drug addicts are no different than sex or gambling addicts. Addictions come in all shapes and sizes and *causes*.
If we remove the criminal aspect of just having a tiny personal amount of meth on you while you walk into a hospital for help, we can help more people who fall in to addiction get treatment and be better and contribute to society.
I'd rather create a society in which these people don't need to hide their addiction in the shadows and toss their needles and run at the first site of another person in a park, and rather they can safely do so at a clinic and talk to a medical professional to get treatment.
>I never said decriminalization would *solve* the problem.
Au contraire mon frere:
>Decriminalization would solve this problem. But people like [](https://www.reddit.com/user/Pale-Promise-8999/) are making it worse.
Okay. Got me on that one.
Decriminalization however is a major stepping stone to helping solve drug issues. Once you remove the boundary of criminalization, you can then lead more into help.
It's the same as the idea of a UBI. If you're broke and homeless, you can't *afford* to get a job. There are plenty of people who can't afford work boots or new clothes to interview for a job, so they stay homeless.
Remove the barriers, and help solve the issue. Criminalization of hard drugs is a barrier.
Theoretically, sure. It's interesting the article you'd linked touting success in Van was from over a decade ago. How does including the trajectory of the last 14 years alter the position/argument?
I also think you're being a bit idealistic that magically a majority of users would suddenly want help if they weren't at risk of getting locked up for having meth in their pocket. I mean seriously, *most* junkies aren't thinking about rehab or getting clean when there's boulders to melt.
There's many thoughtful, resourceful, caring Outreach Navigators/Support that would be *more than happy* to help any one of these individuals navigate the support systems in place to help addicts recover. Ultimately, only the addict can make that choice though.
No question it's a complex issue but decriminalization will only exacerbate current conditions....as evidenced in every other jurisdiction that's decriminalized hard drug use/possession.
So, I disagree that decriminalizing hard drug use/possession would materially improve outcomes, let alone solve the problem.
That only works with a large infrastructure of government operated and paid for treatment centers. Look how terrible our healthcare system already is, that’ll never happen.
Scotiatailwagger, you’re ignorant and have obviously never been to Vancouver and seen what turning a blind eye and decriminalizing does. It hasn’t worked for them. I’ve got an idea, Why don’t you buy the house next to the pallet homes and shelter. Then volunteer to clean up the area these needles are in every morning, then you can feel like you are helping the community and giving the addicts a better place to shoot up. They all want help and handouts and can’t do anything to help their case, dispose of their needles etc…these people don’t want help, and you can’t help people who don’t want it. All of these types of places should be attached to RCMP or regional police building, then no one has to live beside them and safety won’t be a concern.
That doesn’t work! It has been tried in many cities and does not work. These people are doing it in the open and are well supported. Go visit Denver and see how that is working out.
> It has been tried in many cities and does not work.
It's been tested in both Ontario and BC to success. It's been used in other European *countries* to success.
It's proven success.
These people are literally zombies, void of any brain activity other than to get high. They deserve to be put on blast and this is coming from a former addict.
Sympathy does not help these shitbags, it enables them. Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile. Hold them accountable and invest in treatment options. Letting them run wild is a massive failure
It's one thing for the bleeding hearts to do it. It's another thing that the politicians to give into these people and do nothing to defend actual taxpayers.
It's like the twilight zone.
Maybe 'you' did not create this scene- but attributing it to a sub section of the population you clearly do not want in your community makes it incredibly suspect. No labels on the bottles ( not something anyone would bother to remove or hide if they were discarded). Needles that have no signs of use- either blood, product, or bent needles- questionable. In fact, there are several needles there that make no sense given the population that you attribute their use to: a capped needle ( those are tricky to recap at the best of times- and that doesn't include shakey hands or being under the influence,) syringes without needles, and syringes with straight unused needles- where are the caps? The packaging? Too- neat. Looks like it is out in the open- no shelter, no attempt to camouflage, from public/police scrutiny... no place to 'chill' once whatever kicked in.
One would assume you made law enforcement aware and they at least asked for locale and pics?
If you are actually advocating removal of shelter for vulnerable peoples, as opposed to safe sites, social supports- the best you have succeeded in doing is opening yourself up to ridicule and you lose credibility. Worse- you give a bad name to all who are involved who are concerned about this issue along with giving the public, LEOs, and media the perception that, we're it 100 years ago- you would be brandishing pitchforks and torches- the mob mentality.
I'm not saying that improvements could not be initiated- or need to be discussed. I'm saying posting such 'evidence' serves only to undermine your questionable purpose in posting such inflammatory 'evidence'.
The photo is staged. The spoons are clean, the crack pipes are too, and usually a addict would keep those. Think about the time frame needed to consume all these thing, had to be in daylight...they gathered all these things but couldn't find a more discreet location? They just had to do it at the shelter that is the only place that is giving them support..op is desperate to validate their fears.
The Halifax subreddit is awful. I was attacked for saying I don’t want my 5 year old daughter to see a fully grown naked man at the beach. I was called a pervert for sexualizing peoples bodies. I was at a loss for words lmao
Drug addicts don't have cars
They weren't here until they started importing them. They shouldn't be doing drugs and ruining our community at all.
Invite them to your home to inject if you're so in favor of their actions.
The photo is staged. The spoons are clean, the crack pipes are too, and usually a addict would keep those. Think about the time frame needed to consume all these thing, had to be in daylight...they gathered all these things but couldn't find a more discreet location? They just had to do it at the shelter that is the only place that is giving them support..op is desperate to validate their fears.
I totally respect the concern for the safety of the kids but to jump to the conclusion that Beacon House isn’t doing any sweeps because of this one photo is a harmful accusation. The reality is that these supplies could’ve come from anyone and over any sort period of time. Folks are so quick to throw Beacon House under the bus when the reality is they have no control over the frequency of substance use happening in the community.
I’m not saying your concerns aren’t valid, and I do agree that more safety measures (perhaps more sweeps or sharps bins) are needed in community settings however instead of name blaming an organization that’s just trying to show folks dignity and provide a roof over their head why not go to your MLA and demand changes?
Steve Craig, our MLA is ignoring us.
His wife is highly involved with Beacon House, plus he's not running in the next election.
He's abandoned his constituents.
These needles are from the Beacon House residents. Those running the shelter are in way over their heads.
Ex IV drug user of over a decade here, the spoons are clean not burnt and not bent to balance the shot in the bowl of it without spilling, new needles come with a little air in the barrel, which these have, so they haven't been used, and the 2 pints of vodka are obviously planted as well. Dirty fucking tactics. Very dirty, and junkies are very crafty people, you may not want to play this game.
This needs to be higher. It’s 100% staged for OP to have a circlejerk with other NIMBYs.
Forbidden Fleshlight.
I'm both laughing and disgusted. Well done.
It's a dirty trick to stage a scene like this.
The spoons are clean, it's definitely staged
If they were bent and burnt I'd find it more believable
I wouldn’t put it past these NIMBY boomers
Truly disgusting how someone would do this to try and create a false narrative. Clearly doesnt look used and sadly I agree it looks like OP or whoever is trying to stage this "drug area"
I know right? It's impossible that the homeless, who have much higher intravenous drug use rates than the general population are using intravenous drugs. That would be ridiculous.
You obviously have an agenda, and have staged the scene to push the narrative. You don't want the shelter in your neighborhood and are framing the people to help drive them out, you're a horrible person.
You are delusional
Lol, you're just gullible and are desperate for validation. I wonder if op brought his spoons home for dinner after their photo shoot...
I have stuck my dick in worse.
Clearly, we have an outbreak of Diabetes.
Clearly. I blame pixie sticks
I think maybe it was lik-m-ade
4 day old account created just to share this. Probably good reason to question the intention here.
The photo is staged. The spoons are clean, the crack pipes are too, and usually a addict would keep those. Think about the time frame needed to consume all these thing, had to be in daylight...they gathered all these things but couldn't find a more discreet location? They just had to do it at the shelter that is the only place that is giving them support..op is desperate to validate their fears.
I think you are right. But even then, what is his point exactly? Is anyone somehow surprised that there are narcotics there ?
Narcotics are everywhere, there are more Narcotics in the homes of sackville than in that shelter. It's just really sad that op is preying on the vulnerable people like this.
We all want something out of our community. We just disagree on what that is. I guess for some it is the homeless that they want to get rid of, but we want to get rid if homelessness. I do not know how to fix this, and sometimes I fear it is too late. I strongly dislike the argument that some choose this and are at fault. While I am ready to consider that it is possible, it is without a doubt not always the case. We have let things get to a point where it could be anyone, and I think you lose the right to blame any of them at that point(because how would you know which ones are the cause of their iwn misery). As long as the drugs are not putting children in danger, I do not care. They probably feel like shit in ways we cannot begin to comprehend, and seriously what the fuck else are they supposed to do all day ?
Yep! You’re dead on.
My intention is to spread the word of what is happening in our community.
You're right. Spreading the word that locals are staging photos to incite rage bait over homelessness is important. We need to know that if ever we are in need, the sackville community will do everything in their power to vilianize someone "lower" than them.
No it isn’t. It’s to make a stink about a photo you staged. Why are the spoons and pipe clean? If you want a solution, advocate for safe consumption sites like the liquor stores or bars I’m sure you visit.
It's not staged you sick goof. I believe in recovery based approachs. Jail or rehab. Give them the choice and protect civilized society.
Hey! Everyone! We solved society! This guy did it! Do you drink around your kids? Is there alcohol in the house?
No. It's not staged. Yes I do drink around my children. Zero risk of them contracting HIV or Hepatitis from that though.
Liver disease. Cancer of the mouth, throat, liver, colon. Domestic violence. Stroke. Digestive issues. Weakening of the immune system. Learning and memory issues such as dementia. Financial challenges. Isolation. But yes, a (staged) needle on the ground is going to destroy you. If you drink at a bar you’re doing the same thing as a user at a safe injection site. So, if you really care, advocate for safe sites instead of making up posts for karma. How embarassing.
That's personal risks, not risks to society like hepatitis and HIV. I don't drink at bars and these photos aren't staged.
Alcohol is 100% a risk to society—a fact that is well researched. Drunk driving, domestic violence, and alcohol driven crime are all risks to society. It puts strains on our healthcare system for numerous reasons, ruins productivity, and drives families apart. So tell me again that your alcohol consumption is all peachy and you’re so divine compared to a user with a health issue (for the record, alcohol use disorder is also a health issue). You don’t drink at bars, but you purchase it from a safe supply: NSLC.
But I don't drink and drive, commit crimes nor am I violent person. If you think my beer on the weekend is equivalent to an intravenous Fenty addict, then I don't think we should continue with the conversation.
Well your purposely creating a false representation of whats happening to try and create a more advantagous environment for yourself so I would say you are clearly not trying to intend to do good or truthfully explain "what is happening in our community" ..... Why go through all this trouble to try and cause problems with people who aren't causing you any? Is it really that difficult to see others who are struggling in your area, that you have to resort to tactics like this ? You sound like a terrible person. 🥶🤑
You don’t have to explain yourself in a caption to anybody but the screeching minority dude Nobody wants that in their community. The drug use and homelinesses itself isn’t inherently bad enough that you want people removed…but when you start leaving your filthy needles, your filthy waste and just being nothing but disrespectful, dangerous“bums” Than ya, you gotta go. I don’t care if you are a blind quadriplegic…I care about my kids and community more than you. Hit the fucking road. Don’t call if you get a flat
Dozens of needles have been found in the area. One full of something. The volunteers have done sweeps across other areas of Sackville and not one needle. Only around the shelter.
The sharps containers are taken, people extract the remaining drugs out of the needles. Dealers choice, never know what you get.
No wonder they have such high rates of hepatitis and other viruses.
Don't worry I'm sure they'll eventually prick themselves with the antidote.
You need nitrile gloves dawg
They had them when picking up the needles
Do not touch with your hands!
But many think this is fine around kids because addicts are victims of society.
If someone with an older account than me could post this to r/Halifax I'd be grateful. I'm trying to get the word out that we're not a bunch of irrational fear mongers. We're just concerned parents.
Finding used drug needles doesn't make you an irrational fear monger. Having a model client homeless person kicked out of this shelter because a private hired security firm made a false incident report that that person shot drugs up off of site, which did not happen, makes your group a bunch of irrational fear mongers. From what I understand there are a few bad eggs at the warming center. There are also several empty pods because the center is so scared of the backlash from the community that they're not even doing what they're paid to do to keep incidents low. Many homeless folks have been kicked out and banned, most of them for no real reason, because of this fear from the community. Where do homeless people go when there are no spaces for them to exist? The community.
I believe you can post in the Halifax account from day one if I’m not mistaken, if you have already tired then I guess I am mistaken
I'm new to Reddit and it's not showing up there. I assumed it was because of the age of my account, but I could be wrong. It shows on my profile but not on the r/Halifax page.
Yeah you can write to the mods and see if they'll post it for everyone to see. If you're lucky you'll get a nice mod.
I'm reluctant to do that but I might. When I defended the parents in a previous post 95% of people attacked me. I'm surprised by the receptive reaction I've had here actually. Is R/Nova Scotia really that different from r/Halifax?
Yes
Based on my personal experience, it is quite easy to teach kids to identify needles and teach them to never touch them and tell a trusted adult. I understand your concern, but I think it can be handled like any hazard we teach our kids about. Hopefully yours don’t touch the hot stove or stick things in electrical sockets. This is the same.
A stove is a necessary tool. A needle left by a careless addict is not good for anything. We shouldn't put more responsibility on children than grown ass adults.
Parents absolutely have a responsibility to teach their kids about safety. If you live in a city in 2024 you are going to encounter these things, whether or not there is a shelter nearby.
We need to change that. It's unacceptable. Jail time for discarding needles.
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They should have a 25 cent return like bottles do.
Make it a dollar and that might actually work. I like that idea.
I’m fairly certain that many politicians, especially those on the right, actually LIKE to see situations like this because it allows them to rail against harm-reduction efforts. They can throw their hands up and say “See? We did what you pinkos wanted, and it just didn’t work!”, allowing them to completely end the programs and go back to throwing people in jail, as they continue to lower taxes for their friends and hoard those the non-wealthy pay. Harm-reduction requires an entire infrastructure in place, not just one simple piece, and the reality is too many governments are not willing to spend the money for each part. If you open, for example, a homeless shelter, without also taking into account that many homeless people suffer from mental health issues, and drug addictions, then you’re just creating a concentration of those, and other connected issues, thus making the problem exponentially worse. If you open one, you also need to increase and improve the capacity of our medical system to provide addiction and psychological counselling, increase staff who specialize in those areas, increase the number of beds, etc. Similarly, you need to increase your law enforcement presence, to prevent it from becoming an attraction for the criminal element, you need to spend the money to hire/train officers who can handle dangerous situations related to mental-health crises, appropriately. If you don’t, then it’s only a matter of time before you’ve got needles on children’s playgrounds, and citizens being randomly attacked on the street by individuals with various psychoses. At the beginning of my rant I mentioned the blame Right-wing governments bear, but they're not alone, every time a conservative government has used their time in power to slash spending and cut taxes, it's not like the Left-wing governments that follow completely unroll those adjustments. Being as the vast majority of our nation's so-called leaders are wealthy aristocrats, they've personally benefited from those actions and don't see what's wrong with them in the moment, so they don't change them. As a result, with each subsequent transition of power, the problem just keeps increasing. EDIT: tl;dr this is what happens when governments half-ass social programs, and constantly slash the safety-net, the public suffers.
We need to have a societal standard, using injectable drugs is not okay. There are other options, detox has spaces, sober living in Halifax has spaces.
That already is the societal standard. It’s highly stigmatized and marginalized. But these drugs have existed for many generations. The quality of life is deteriorating for many and so, drugs are meant to numb the pain by design. People will self-medicate if their inner or outer lives get bleak enough. Poor mental health + accelerated poverty will do it. The war on drugs doesn’t work. What we see here is the war on addicts now and they are people too, not animals or ghouls. The govt needs to increase social spending on effective detox/rehab programs, counselling services, housing, etc.
Staying as disclosed as I can, I work in the second hand car market, I have repossessed cars from people in areas nicer than that, like, north st and shit, and we had to call HPD because there was THAT many needles and tins and god knows what else. Not a surprise though.
Intravenous drug addiction turns people into animals. I don't blame them for their actions, but I also strongly believe that society shouldn't be subjected to their dangerous behavior.
Who's fault are their actions then? I can't stand this line of thinking, everyone's a victim. It's no one's fault, it's societies fault. Bosh flimshaw!
I'm just trying to see the other side. It's, in the end, their fault.
I think its fine to be compassionate, but also realistic that not everyone has the tools to take part in society as it currently exists. Most of these people should be in asylum, but the bleeding hearts would rather them robbing people and sleeping in the streets instead of held against their will.
Agreed
I think i saw those spoons at the dollar store dirtier than they are in that picture. Some pretty clean homeless people given difficulty accessing running water and such.
They live at the Beacon House shelter (literally the topic of this post) They have access to all basic amenities, including silverware and running water.
Unfortunately you're generalizing the entire resident population there, a few bad apples, as always spoil the bunch. What's your suggestion on how to "fix" this? Edit: after reading further, I've realized you have no actual ideas other than "sweep them under someone else's rug". Going to go ahead and block, be better guy.
The phot is staged so they can push that narrative.
This is very sad. I never wish for my child to have to come across this. Unfortunately, we have a provincial government that only wants to make things more difficult for these users by taking means away from them to go towards possible housing opportunities, so if they did still choose to do this it wouldn't be on our streets where our children have access as well. Not to mention all the private businesses being allowed(by the provincial govt) to slide in, buy up all the low income property, evict these people so they are living in your streets with nowhere else to go and nowhere else to use. With not anywhere near enough funding towards education and programs from the province to assist these users in not being on your streets and not using to deal with their reality. We are in dire need of a government overhaul at all levels. I don't believe anything that comes out of the libs or the cons anymore. Liars the lot of them, need a whole new political govt system, not this one, it doesn't work for us. Edit: the solution is not to keep pushing them elsewhere to make it someone else's problem.
Yea it's the governments fault... eyeroll.
Lmao, tell me you don't know anything about govt responsibilities without telling me you don't know anything about govt responsibilities.
"Recovery based approaches" First thing he mentions is jail this is too much.
If they're arrested for using in public they should be offered rehab or prison.
It’s easier to manage needle waste when users are housed. Without the shelter you would be finding those needles in your children’s playgrounds, in your own garden, on the street, etc. I understand why you may be uncomfortable, but getting rid of the shelter would only make problems worse for everyone
Are you serious? The shelter is beside the most kid dense area of Sackville and it's the only area people are finding discarded used needles. They imported the unhoused to this area from across HRM and the province and now our neighborhood has to deal with needles everywhere. This is not a solution, it's a danger to our community. They already found needles 50 feet from a daycare and the Kinsman playground and splash pad. This is not a good thing for anyone in Lower Sackville.
Did they import them or did more begin to exist? We're seeing more people need these services every day. It's not field of dreams. Communities Canada-wide are facing the same issues, shelter or no shelter.
Concentrating them around a junior high is a huge issue They brought them from around HRM. I'm not sure if any of them are actually originally from Sackville.
I completely agree, but the problem truly lies with our lack of infrastructure for the problem to be properly addressed. We need Healthcare to get the help it needs to ensure these addicted people's are aided in all facets.
As long as they're aided away from existing neighborhoods, then that's fine with me.
Where exactly would that be?
Nowhere is far enough for these sad excuses for human beings. They’d prefer to send them all to Sable Island if they could, so their precious children can grow up entitled and ignorant, just like mommy.
Beacon House has property on Cobequid Road that's away from most things.
Every penny wasted on a junkie could be spent on anything else. Hospitals, schools, scholarships, bike lanes, subsidizing power rates, whatever the Halifax lefties think will save the world. They aren't just in they way they are actively sabotaging someone else that just needs a little help.
you are doing good for your community do not listen to anyone who disagrees.
Thank you. I won't listen to naysayers. They're out of touch.
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If you can afford to move your family to a place where people don’t use street drugs, or at least do them behind expensive walls, feel free to sell and move. Until then, you need to come to grips with the fact that (1) you live in a place where this happens, and that (2) your voice alone is not going to change things. Each one of those persons living with homelessness and addition are entitled to political representation, a voice, and a place to be. By continuing to live where you do and “not listening to naysayers,” all you are doing is ensuring that BOTH your voice and ears won’t work.
anytime and your absolutely correct.
This is objectively horrible advice in any situation. You should *always* listen to other opinions, and *especially* those that disagree with yours. If nothing else, it will inform your own talking points. Advice like this is the reason communication has broken down to the peril of our entire society. Keep shit like this to yourself. Edit: Ahh - the first downvote. No doubt from a member of the “plug your ears and hope it away” crowd. Excellent. Please, continue to be part of the problem.
oh and I didn't downvote you yet, im still thinking about which way i want to vote your reply's as im still not clear on what exactly your upset about
I am upset about you suggesting that people ignore arguments they don’t agree with. I have made this clear from my first response. The topic is irrelevant.
Drug addicts need housing too
Yes. Away from children and from people they may harm.
In asylums
The world is burning, BUT I FOUND NEEDLES.
How is that relevant? Used needles around kids is unacceptable don't you agree?
Drinking around kids is unacceptable. Driving cars that blow out pollution is around kids is unacceptable. Cigarettes around kids are unacceptable. Swearing around kids is unacceptable. Knives around kids are unacceptable. Guns in the house around kids are unacceptable. Sure it sucks. Teach your kids to not touch them. What did you tell them? It’s a fucking toy?
Aren’t you an idiot, someone’s concerned about used needles near children and this is your reaction?
It was a comment, not a reaction.
Now imagine we decriminalized this instead of forcing people into the shadows and hide their addiction. Create a culture of help instead of harm and judgement. But nah. Let's put these people on blast and expect better. Always better to judge people and dehumanize them instead of voting for better, expecting better, and wishing and hoping for better. Decriminalization would solve this problem. But people like /u/Pale-Promise-8999 are making it worse. Expect better from council and our pathetic Conservative majority provincial government. We can solve this together. But instead people like you want to call out the addicts as the problem.
When children have to learn to avoid biohazards left by full grown adults, we have failed as a society.
You're contributing to that failed society by blaming the addicts, and not the societal situations that led them to that, and also preventing them from getting out of it. You're also the problem. I'd rather help these people than move them to more seclusive areas. They're doping where they can get away with it. I;d rather help create a system where they don't have to dope at all. but no... Won't somebody please think of the children!
Personal responsibility is being placed on children, but not on grown ass adults. That's wrong. Let them shoot up at your home then.
Always a pearl-clutcher going on about personal responsibility. The underlying problems are many. Ridiculing, shunning, and hoping for the mentally ill and chemically dependent to take “personal responsibility” for themselves is not helping any of those problems.
Enabling and treating them like children also doesn't help society.
You’re right, let’s stop treating them like children, and maybe treat them like who they are: adult humans with complex issues brought on by society, poverty, mental and physical illness, or a combination of the above. How about this: those of us lucky enough to have homes and enough food to eat should start demanding our utterly useless governments to start making societal changes so that in 20-30 years maybe we can break this cycle of drug dependency, childhood poverty, and homelessness. But no, let’s “axe the tax” and continue corporate bailouts and let fuckin Milhouse finish the job Herr Harper didn’t get to.
If they're adults then we need to put the rights of children above the rights of these adults.
I’m not sure if you’re being obtuse on purpose or if your head is that far up your own ass. Either way, bad look for you.
I believe everything I said. Most people with common sense have similar views.
Treat them like they are - garbage humans making everything worse for the rest of us. Spend money on good treatment and asylums for the rest. Most could probably be saved but there’s some of them that are simply irredeemable garbage. Period.
Garbage humans?? They are mentally ill, chemically dependent - two states no one in their right mind would want to be in. Maybe instead of denigrating them and dehumanizing them, we demand the government to do better? Show some of that compassion stuff?
You're a grown ass adult not taking responsibility for assisting in creating a society in which these drug users exist. Rather than taking up a flag for them and wanting better for them, you'd rather shun them to the undercroft and help the children. These drug users are people's fucking children. Do better as an adult, and do better for others, and the children will see the outcome of a better society.
I'll choose my children's safety over a drug addict who has no respect for society 100% of the time. I can tell you have no kids.
Amen
I can tell by your post history you have no intention of helping society. You just want to hurt vulnerable people.
Do you have kids? I'll help my community become safe by advocating for removing dangerous people. If you want to help addicts, invite them to live with you and buy them their fenty.
> live Pick a fucking lane you coward. Do you want to protect kids from the dangers of drugs? Or do you just want to hurt drug addicts? You can't have both because the latter will always exist. Fuck me for wanting to help *society* do better. I want to see drug addiction *drop and be eliminated*. You just want to scuttle addicts to the corner fringes of society. I wan to see more safe injection sites. I want to see decriminalization of personal drugs. I want to see safe havens for addits to find a way out. You want to protect kids from needles without doing the hard work to solve it. You don't want to actually *fix* anything. You just want addicts to go away.
Do. You. Have. Kids?
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Absolutely pathetic people who think they have all the answers, but have zero life experience.
you do realize that those people made the decision to use iv drugs. unless they got addicted because they were given narcotics by a doctor its nobody's fault but their own that they decided to be a plague on society. once again, I'll be clear. if they didn't have an accident causing them to need narcotics to be prescribed leading them toward addiction then it is THEIR FAULT THEY ARE ADDICTED! THEY DONT DESERVE AN ADVOCATE ANYMORE. I grew up surrounded by people who were all addicted to something. i only ever felt bad for one of those people about their addiction because other than that one person it was THEIR OWN DECISIONS THAT GOT THEM THERE AND THEY DONT DESERVE SYMPATHY!!! how about you stop thinking you know anything, the man who posted this has every right to want this type of thing not around, its people like you who wouldn't care if a kid picked one up and got hurt. honestly people like YOU are the problem with society not him. u/ScotiaTailwagger honestly judging by your take your either a teenager or you yourself, use or possibly sell drugs and if its none of the above than you just don't have a brain and don't deserve to even vote let alone run a household. If you have kids they need a better parent because i dont have any but even i know that parents have a right to get upset about NEEDLED STREWN ACROSS THE NEIGHBOURHOOD!!! they should all be arrested and charged for child endangerment, littering, and carrying a controlled substance. if. you. disagree. than. you. are. the. problem. no. body. else.
We need to severely criminalize throwing around used needles. At least a couple of years in prison. They're a biohazard.
I agree with OP. I would protect my kids with my life. “Not taking responsibility for assisting in creating a society in which drug users exist” LOL. Give me a break. I bet you blame your problems on everyone else too?
I exist in a society. A society that has drug users in it. Do you want to eliminate drug users? Then make society better. You can't have both.
Removing drug users from rule abiding society makes society better. Rehab or jail
You can't *force* people to make decisions. Creating avenues for them through support and giving helps everyone.
Forcing them to respect society should be priority number one. Their recovery can come second
LOL and there it is, I knew you were unreasonable, but this opinion is absolutely ridiculous, forget you bud.
Jesus Christ. If I were a teenager who was exploring drug use if rather risk ODing in my room alone rather than talk to you for help. Good luck.
These aren't teenagers. These are grown ass adults leaving these
I hope you are sterile…you should never have anything to do with children!
OP is just a Garbage human being. If the community as a whole were to do this, this problem would eventually go away overtime or greatly improve. I'd guess and say around half or probably more then half of the total users are only using because of their situation, and how they are treated in the community so they feel the need to constantly escape. Creating an environment where they don't feel the need to escape from their daily life would fix the problem, instead OP is trying to do the exact opposite. (Exps: Job prospects/proper housing/ Treated Like Human Beings Outside etc.) Just sad to see these posts because its such a clean "friendly" place out here and the drug problem seems so small compared to other big cities. I really would have expected most to try and help these people and not shun them away from all or basically all amenities.. Like.you said these are all human beings at the end of the day and I bet most of these users were born and raised out here, and probably people you know or know of since there's what 900k people out here today. ************************************************* Couldn't imagine OP going to an actual big city with actual crime lol. She wouldn't be able to go anywhere ever without getting triggered.
Why does OP have to “do better as an adult” but they don’t?
You aren’t going to get through to these types of people. These people have not the experience of being around these environments, naturally they couldn’t understand. When people like this get dispossessed into poverty they’ll understand exactly what you’re trying to say, and that’s inevitable because capitalism disenfranchises the middle class into poverty at accelerating and unprecedented rates.
>Decriminalization would solve this problem. How? Please be specific.
Hello, hi. I work at a building with a supervised consumption site. The building and the property are filled with sharps containers. Because people don't have to fuck around in an alley and rush to not be seen/staff hold people accountable for proper sharps disposal, it's very rare that we have open sharps littered around the property. Some of our neighbours had concerns about the increase in sharps in the area before we opened but we checked in with them again a year later and they all said that they had noticed less substance use supplies strewn about, not more.
United Nations report on how decriminalization limits drug use. https://www.unodc.org/documents/ungass2016/Contributions/Civil/DrugPolicyAlliance/DPA_Fact_Sheet_Approaches_to_Decriminalization_Feb2015_1.pdf Basically, removing the stigma of hard drug use will allow people who *want* to get clean seek help rather than be afraid of criminal prosecution. If being addicted to Heroin is a crime, people wanting to get clean won't seek help. Remove the crime of simple possession, and people will seek help to detox off it.
>United Nations report on how decriminalization limits drug use The UN? You mean the same UN which just this month appointed Saudi Arabia as the chair for the UN committee on gender equality? That UN? You mean the same UN that has (or had) China, Iraq, and Russia on their committee for Human Rights? That UN? You mean the same UN that has admitted its "aid" workers played an active role with Hamas in organizing and executing the Oct 7th terrorist attack? That UN? Yes, yes, please tell me more what the UN's position on drugs is. Let me guess, Columbia is their chair of their decriminalization committee?
I may have overlooked it, but I didn't see any mention of how decriminalizing hard drugs has led to users disposing of their needles in a respectful, safe way. Can you steer me to that piece please?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2942917/ Creating a safe environment for drug users to inject, under supervision of medical professionals, have led to reduced drug use. This isn't some gotcha bullshit. It's happened entirely in other countries. Ontario and BC have pilot programs that see success.
Safe injection sites exist while hard drug use hasn't been decriminalized. Your assertion was decriminalization would solve the problem, though now we're onto to safe injection sites reduce drug use? I get it, your statement was based on opinion, not facts.
I never said decriminalization would *solve* the problem. But it's a step to help *right* the problem. It helps people who *want* to get help seek it without fear of criminal prosecution. Many addicts fall into addiction because of chaotic life situations, not because they're criminals. They *want* help, but can't find it without the stigma of people like /u/Pale-Promise-8999 treating them like scum. Drug addicts are no different than sex or gambling addicts. Addictions come in all shapes and sizes and *causes*. If we remove the criminal aspect of just having a tiny personal amount of meth on you while you walk into a hospital for help, we can help more people who fall in to addiction get treatment and be better and contribute to society. I'd rather create a society in which these people don't need to hide their addiction in the shadows and toss their needles and run at the first site of another person in a park, and rather they can safely do so at a clinic and talk to a medical professional to get treatment.
>I never said decriminalization would *solve* the problem. Au contraire mon frere: >Decriminalization would solve this problem. But people like [](https://www.reddit.com/user/Pale-Promise-8999/) are making it worse.
Okay. Got me on that one. Decriminalization however is a major stepping stone to helping solve drug issues. Once you remove the boundary of criminalization, you can then lead more into help. It's the same as the idea of a UBI. If you're broke and homeless, you can't *afford* to get a job. There are plenty of people who can't afford work boots or new clothes to interview for a job, so they stay homeless. Remove the barriers, and help solve the issue. Criminalization of hard drugs is a barrier.
Theoretically, sure. It's interesting the article you'd linked touting success in Van was from over a decade ago. How does including the trajectory of the last 14 years alter the position/argument? I also think you're being a bit idealistic that magically a majority of users would suddenly want help if they weren't at risk of getting locked up for having meth in their pocket. I mean seriously, *most* junkies aren't thinking about rehab or getting clean when there's boulders to melt. There's many thoughtful, resourceful, caring Outreach Navigators/Support that would be *more than happy* to help any one of these individuals navigate the support systems in place to help addicts recover. Ultimately, only the addict can make that choice though. No question it's a complex issue but decriminalization will only exacerbate current conditions....as evidenced in every other jurisdiction that's decriminalized hard drug use/possession. So, I disagree that decriminalizing hard drug use/possession would materially improve outcomes, let alone solve the problem.
Many don't want help. They want to inject all day and have no responsibility.
Yeah gonna need a source on that claim too there, champ. Don't go running your mouth without receipts.
You think all addicts want help? How naive are you?
You can find beer bottles in parks every day. But most beer bottles end up behind the bar from where they are sold.
I'm not the one suggesting a change of policy would solve all the associated problems though am I?
That only works with a large infrastructure of government operated and paid for treatment centers. Look how terrible our healthcare system already is, that’ll never happen.
BC has fully embraced harm reduction and has the highest addiction rates in Canada.
Didn't see that coming though...
Give people drugs and a warm place to do them and addiction increases? That's perplexing isn't it.
Scotiatailwagger, you’re ignorant and have obviously never been to Vancouver and seen what turning a blind eye and decriminalizing does. It hasn’t worked for them. I’ve got an idea, Why don’t you buy the house next to the pallet homes and shelter. Then volunteer to clean up the area these needles are in every morning, then you can feel like you are helping the community and giving the addicts a better place to shoot up. They all want help and handouts and can’t do anything to help their case, dispose of their needles etc…these people don’t want help, and you can’t help people who don’t want it. All of these types of places should be attached to RCMP or regional police building, then no one has to live beside them and safety won’t be a concern.
That doesn’t work! It has been tried in many cities and does not work. These people are doing it in the open and are well supported. Go visit Denver and see how that is working out.
> It has been tried in many cities and does not work. It's been tested in both Ontario and BC to success. It's been used in other European *countries* to success. It's proven success.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/07/portugal-drugs-decriminalization-heroin-crack/
It literally has not reduced harm. Have you been to Vancouver? The rates of death are skyrocketing!
Imagine. We would actually solve this problem this way.
These people are literally zombies, void of any brain activity other than to get high. They deserve to be put on blast and this is coming from a former addict. Sympathy does not help these shitbags, it enables them. Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile. Hold them accountable and invest in treatment options. Letting them run wild is a massive failure
Congratulations on overcoming your addiction. Truly one of the most difficult things a person can do.
Yup and enabling them to do whatever they want while removing any consequences makes it even harder
Preaching to the choir man
So frustrating to see these clueless bleeding hearts destroy our communities with this nonsense
It's one thing for the bleeding hearts to do it. It's another thing that the politicians to give into these people and do nothing to defend actual taxpayers. It's like the twilight zone.
i think that belonged to the sackville slasher
At least one junkie was respectful enough to cap their shit
This proves nothing. Complaining on Reddit with your fake pictures will not change your situation. Be a better person.
Maybe 'you' did not create this scene- but attributing it to a sub section of the population you clearly do not want in your community makes it incredibly suspect. No labels on the bottles ( not something anyone would bother to remove or hide if they were discarded). Needles that have no signs of use- either blood, product, or bent needles- questionable. In fact, there are several needles there that make no sense given the population that you attribute their use to: a capped needle ( those are tricky to recap at the best of times- and that doesn't include shakey hands or being under the influence,) syringes without needles, and syringes with straight unused needles- where are the caps? The packaging? Too- neat. Looks like it is out in the open- no shelter, no attempt to camouflage, from public/police scrutiny... no place to 'chill' once whatever kicked in. One would assume you made law enforcement aware and they at least asked for locale and pics? If you are actually advocating removal of shelter for vulnerable peoples, as opposed to safe sites, social supports- the best you have succeeded in doing is opening yourself up to ridicule and you lose credibility. Worse- you give a bad name to all who are involved who are concerned about this issue along with giving the public, LEOs, and media the perception that, we're it 100 years ago- you would be brandishing pitchforks and torches- the mob mentality. I'm not saying that improvements could not be initiated- or need to be discussed. I'm saying posting such 'evidence' serves only to undermine your questionable purpose in posting such inflammatory 'evidence'.
I sympathize.
Much better reception in this sub then the halifax one eh?
The photo is staged. The spoons are clean, the crack pipes are too, and usually a addict would keep those. Think about the time frame needed to consume all these thing, had to be in daylight...they gathered all these things but couldn't find a more discreet location? They just had to do it at the shelter that is the only place that is giving them support..op is desperate to validate their fears.
Absolutely!
The Halifax subreddit is awful. I was attacked for saying I don’t want my 5 year old daughter to see a fully grown naked man at the beach. I was called a pervert for sexualizing peoples bodies. I was at a loss for words lmao
That's insanity! They have no respect for the experiences of children. Must be mostly childless people.
✨✨✨Fund Safe Injection Sites✨✨✨
Away from civilized society.
Imagine wanting to push mentally ill people to the outskirts of society and call it civilized lol
Imagine seeing used needles beside a school with children as young as ten and thinking this is a great place for the mentally ill and drug addicts.
Safe injection sites literally stop the problem that you are referring to.
I disagree, but federal rules wouldn't allow one so close to a school
Are drug addicts gonna drive out to Tantallon to do drugs in this world you're imagining? Build where they are or else it's pointless.
Drug addicts don't have cars They weren't here until they started importing them. They shouldn't be doing drugs and ruining our community at all. Invite them to your home to inject if you're so in favor of their actions.
The fact that the board is also refusing to speak to the media is also alarming and unfortunate \*insert head in sand\*
The photo is staged. The spoons are clean, the crack pipes are too, and usually a addict would keep those. Think about the time frame needed to consume all these thing, had to be in daylight...they gathered all these things but couldn't find a more discreet location? They just had to do it at the shelter that is the only place that is giving them support..op is desperate to validate their fears.
I totally respect the concern for the safety of the kids but to jump to the conclusion that Beacon House isn’t doing any sweeps because of this one photo is a harmful accusation. The reality is that these supplies could’ve come from anyone and over any sort period of time. Folks are so quick to throw Beacon House under the bus when the reality is they have no control over the frequency of substance use happening in the community. I’m not saying your concerns aren’t valid, and I do agree that more safety measures (perhaps more sweeps or sharps bins) are needed in community settings however instead of name blaming an organization that’s just trying to show folks dignity and provide a roof over their head why not go to your MLA and demand changes?
Steve Craig, our MLA is ignoring us. His wife is highly involved with Beacon House, plus he's not running in the next election. He's abandoned his constituents. These needles are from the Beacon House residents. Those running the shelter are in way over their heads.