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Global Politics Forced rehab in Alberta

Electrum1 said:
Involuntarily no longer being a fentanyl tent dweller on the sidewalk is not a punishment, it's a gift
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I agree. Despite my belief in personal autonomy when it comes to substance use, I also believe in the state's obligation to provide institutions for treatment and recovery for those who are incapable of making choices in their own best interest.

Allowing people to delude themselves into believing that the best life they can get is numbing themselves with neurotoxic opioids while living in stolen tents on public land is inhumane.
 
tryptakid said:
I agree. Despite my belief in personal autonomy when it comes to substance use, I also believe in the state's obligation to provide institutions for treatment and recovery for those who are incapable of making choices in their own best interest.

Allowing people to delude themselves into believing that the best life they can get is numbing themselves with neurotoxic opioids while living in stolen tents on public land is inhumane.
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Doesn't matter. You'll just flip flop by tomorrow, in your best interest, which seems to be manipulative at best. Bottom line is, forcing sidewalk junkies to get cleaned up in an institutional environment is not a punishment like prison is
 
“Approved cases "would meet the absolute highest standard of the most extreme examples of destruction in our society and in one's life because of the addiction," Williams said.

A government news release said the commission would consist of lawyers, physicians and members of the public.

"Individuals would have access to legal support and the health advocate and would retain the ability to appeal," it said.”

it doesn’t sound like people would just be plucked off the street at random. I understand that as an adult you have the right to live your life however you want. But I also see the flip side. People who are constantly overdosing, getting themselves hurt, fighting others, don’t have their mental faculties to even make the decision to go to rehab even if they wanted to, and the list goes on.

I feel like it’s better than being condemned to a psych ward. Or jail in many cases.

Just my opinion though. I respect that there any many people who are furious about this. I do see it as a gift as well though. Once the seed has been planted… you never know how many people this could help. Even if it’s 4 out of 100, I feel that’s a good thing.
 
I don’t disagree with either of you actually. Especially the part about being treated as a non human.
I feel pretty conflicted with this one. I knew there had been talks about it, but that’s the first article I’ve read on it in a long time.

If I were the addict being forced somewhere I didn’t want to be, I’d probably resort to doing some fucked up shit to get out of it. But I honestly can look at it from the other side as well. A ton of people are dying needlessly every day. It’s extremely hard to watch loved ones deteriorate and become shells of their former selves. If my kid grew up and went down an even worse path than me and I had this option available, I’d do whatever the fuck I could to save her life even if she hated me for it.

If they’re going to do it, they should have people who have years of recovery working in those places instead of a bunch of people that don’t have that personal experience. Though I’ve met some (handful?) great people that have been genuinely empathetic to addicts.

Again, just my opinion. I can understand both sides.
 
Electrum1 said:
Doesn't matter. You'll just flip flop by tomorrow, in your best interest, which seems to be manipulative at best. Bottom line is, forcing sidewalk junkies to get cleaned up in an institutional environment is not a punishment like prison is
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I wrote my thesis on the failure of deinstitutionalization.

You are not as good at reading people as you think, get over yourself.
 
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I believe in personal autonomy. I also believe that there's a point in which people stop being capable of chosing what's best for themselves, and recognizing when their actions are a drain on society. I don't think that involuntary hospitalization should also be inhumane - the original ideal behind Dorothea Dix and Thomas Kirkbride's plans was rooted in the 'humane treatment of patients'. The idea was to pull people off of the street, out of prisons, and stop warehousing them in asylums, and move them into hospitals in pastoral settings where they could begin to rebuild their lives. For a time, it was an effective model of care - people found stability and skid row was liberated from the inhumanity that it had become. Unfortunately, deregulation, overpopulation, poor funding, and the desire to use patients as test subjects for experimental procedures marked the beginning of a very dark period of psychiatric treatment.

I've looked at this period and written about it at length - the decision to close these programs came from a mixture of social liberal and libertarian political will - the rights of the individual and the rights of the disabled - but the implementation of these rights has been horrific. By liberating people from hospitals, we've created hellish neighborhoods that perpetuate trauma upon numerous generations.

It doesn't have to be this way.
 
Electrum1 said:
No. It's not a forced punishment like prison is
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I assume you have never been forced to go to Rehab by your parents. Or like some other people by court order
I have never been to prison but know people who have and there are differences of course. The feeling of being powerless and forced to live a certain way is very similar
 
I see where some people could benefit from being taken off the streets and drugs. But just getting them clean is not the answer to their problems
Of course the government says that everything will be very professional and only for the benefit of the people but we all know how politicians and also other leaders say whatever they need to get their agendas approved
 
The_Selecter said:
I see where some people could benefit from being taken off the streets and drugs. But just getting them clean is not the answer to their problems
Of course the government says that everything will be very professional and only for the benefit of the people but we all know how politicians and also other leaders say whatever they need to get their agendas approved
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I also agree with this. Getting sober is amazing and it’s a great place to start.. but it’s not a magic fix. For some it could be great. For most, they’re likely going to end up right back where they started. People need a ton of support after years of addiction/mental health issues, and living in rough, dangerous situations. I’m sure there are a select few government officials that want to help and actually have empathy for addicts. A very select few.
 
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