Enabling Through Prescriptions - A Scourge on our Nation

I’ve worked in the addictions/mental health field for over 17 years as an addictions counsellor, housing first worker (trying to house chronically homeless people), outreach worker and a mental health crisis worker. The majority of clients I run into have a combination of addiction and mental health issues.

As is common these days a great deal of people are dealing with opioid addictions. In the brilliance of our modern medical industry a great number of physicians feel that the solution is providing methadone – which is harder to get off than heroin. Their reasoning is that methadone reduces cravings for opioids (e.g. – fentanyl; oxycontin; oxycodone; etc.) and the person will not use. Sounds good in theory – right?! However, in my experience I’d say of the 50 people I’ve met that were perscribed methadone only two of them actually stopped using opioids and then stopped taking methadone. Those two people I met as a member of a 12 Step Fellowship and I’d wager that it wasn’t the methadone that got them clean/sober (although, I’ll concede it probably helped) but the 12 Step Program.

Not only does methadone not help the majority of people stop but it’s prescribed even when someone continues to use opioids and any other drugs (e.g. – crack; meth; cocaine; etc.). To me that’s plain insanity.

More recently I’ve noticed that not only are physicians prescribing methadone they are combining it with Kadian. Kadian is basically morphine - another type of opioid. That’s like prescribing whiskey to an alcoholic. Everyone I’ve encountered who takes Kadian has also continued to use opioids.

Does anyone see the logic in any of this? I sure don’t. As a recovered alcoholic/addict I know that the only thing that helped me change my life was pain. I consider methadone and Kadian another way to enable addicts. Enabling is a hindrance to someone getting clean/sober.

I live in the province of Ontario. Many of the clients I encounter on methadone receive Ontario Works which covers the cost of methadone. I fully believe that OW should not cover this drug. Millions of dollars could be saved and would be better used if it were put towards supportive housing and free addiction treatment. Supportive housing is housing that teaches people how to live independently or supports them if they cannot reach that stage. Most people, experiencing homelessness, that I’ve worked with, did not have the skills to remain independently housed. Many people I helped get a place to live lost that place within three to six months.

If we want to solve our homeless and addiction issues, we have to make a lot of changes and getting rid of methadone and Kadian would  be a good first step.

Dave the Dude

Left and Woke: The new virus

 

I’ve been working in the addictions/mental health field for almost two decades now. The drugs the people use, and even the types of alcohol, may have changed a bit but the issues they are dealing with have stayed primarily the same. As has the way to help them. What has changed, to the detriment of the industry and clients, is that many of the workers and agencies have gone so far left and woke that people aren’t getting the help they need.

I do psychoeducational groups at work. One of the groups I do is about denial and denial patterns. One of the patterns I talk about is the Democratic Disease State.

 

The Democratic Disease State – I convince myself that I have a right to continue to use alcohol/drugs even if it kills me. Yes, I’m destroying my life. Yes, I’m hurting those I love. Yes, I’m a burden to society. So what? I have the right to drink and drug myself to death. No one has the right to make me stop. My addiction is killing me anyway. I might as well convince myself that I’m dying because I want to.

 

This used to be something we could help people see and deal with. However, in today’s woke work culture many agencies and workers are telling people that they should feel this way. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that addiction is a disease and that we need to try keep people safe until they have that moment of clarity, however, this does not mean enabling them. By telling them they have the right to use, to provide free drugs/alcohol (on the taxpayer dime) and that no one should be able to tell them to stop is enabling them to stay in their addiction. Those agencies and workers are just providing another excuse, another denial pattern, for people to stay sick. 

I’ve been sober over 20 years. I got sober primarily by being a part of Alcoholics Anonymous and working the 12 Steps into my life. When I got sober I went back to school so I could help people in similar circumstances to what I was in. Ironically, in the over 18 years I have worked in this industry I have had issues with a couple workplaces. Both of these issues, which ended in the loss of a job, were the result of unethical and unspiritual actions by people I trusted in AA. Rather than coming to me with an alleged problem they had they went to higher ups. One of these people actually pretended to be on my side when I was asked to head up starting a union. Instead he reported me to management, who found a way to fire me and he got my job. I take responsibility for my part in each of these incidents even if I thought I was right. The second incident some woke, alleged friend with alleged good recovery, found satirical comments anti-left and pro-science so they proceeded to try to destroy me. 

When I went to my last treatment centre (as a client) there were counsellors there from all walks of life. Stubborn old timers who were overly strict, ex-hippies who had got clean and sober, etc. Despite being different from one another they had one goal in common – to help the still suffering alcohol/addict. Today’s world has so much woke leftness in it that many organizations and workers have forgot that this is their primary purpose.

Kudos to the government for closing safe injection sites

 

The Ontario Government has announced that safe injection sites within 200 meters of schools and childcare centres are no longer allowed. This will result in 10 safe injection sites being closed in Toronto. As with all issues like this, there is much controversy.

As a recovered alcoholic/addict and social worker who works with people active in addiction I applaud the move. These sites are glorified enabling sites. Addiction is a disease and a health issue and the addict cannot control his/her consumption. However, you cannot treat this disease like any other disease. Addiction/alcoholism is the only disease that tells one they do not have it.

By making it easier to use and lessoning the consequences of one’s addiction we only make it easier for someone to continue using. The only thing that causes change is pain (physical/emotional/spiritual). If we take away the pain then there’s little chance of someone having that moment of clarity where they decide to ask for help.

I heard that 40% of people who go to these sites have been referred to treatment. That is great but that means 60% do not. Taxpayer money would be better spent on paying for treatment and lessoning the wait times as that moment of clarity does not last long. It must be acted upon ASAP. One of my friends was going to work at a Toronto safe injection site and was told, in no uncertain terms, that he was not allowed to talk about recovery to people using the site. That sealed the deal for me on any pro-stance towards these sites.

The government has also banned any attempt at providing safe supply. Thanks God for that!!! It has been proven, in both Vancouver and London, Ontario, that this does not help the addict in the least. All they do is sell the safe supply and by stronger opiates. In Vancouver, it’s actually labelled safe supply which makes some of the people it’s sold to think it is totally safe to take. A 14-year-old died from this alleged safe supply in 2022 when she bought it off someone who the government gave it to. The Vancouver family has launched a lawsuit and rightfully so.

If we want to help people, we need five things:

A)   Quicker and free access to addiction treatment.

B)   Treatment centres need to be regulated. Currently they are not and many take advantage of that.

C)   The Ontario Mental Health Act needs to be changed so we can put people with severe mental health problems into institutions to get help they don’t realize they need.

D)   The proper institutions need to be built.

We need much more transitional housing. Many addicts are not ready for independent living

A    If someone is not ready to be clean and sober then nothing we can do will change his or her mind. However, making it easier to use sure won’t get them to the place they need to be to make that change.

Davka Dave (AKA: Dave the Dude)

 

Forced Treatment

 

There’s been some talk in the news and talk radio today about the possibility of forcing active alcoholics/addicts into treatment. A reporter asked future Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Poilievre if he would do that. Wisely, Poilievre said he didn’t think it would work but he would consider it if evidence showed it could work.

Well, as a recovered alcoholic/addict and social worker/addictions counsellor I can tell you that there’s no way it would. My fellow recovered alcoholics/addicts would agree that if one does not have a desire to stop then no matter what you do they won’t get clean/sober.

It took me five years to stop drinking/drugging. When I first started trying to get clean/sober, I did not have the desire to stop drinking. I could not envision a life without it. Despite legal ramifications, health consequences and friend/family consequences I could not come around to having a desire. It wasn’t until I had an emotional/spiritual rock bottom that desire arrived.

I work with many addicts/alcoholics who do not have the desire to stop feeding their addiction. Despite being homeless, broke and facing numerous consequences they do not want to stop. Forcing them into a treatment centre would do nothing but negatively influence those there who do have a desire to quit.

I’ve seen families send their children to treatment centres against their wishes. The children never make it. They either get kicked out for breaking rules (usually using) or negatively affect someone who may have had a chance.

Every active alcoholic/addict effects up to seven people in their lives. If you include the general public being effected by crime, costs of dealing with overdoses, ER visits, etc. then it effects society as a whole. Despite this, forcing someone into a treatment centre just won’t work. Unless you want to keep the person locked up for the rest of their life, they will go back to self-medicating.

The Ontario Mental Health Act prevents people with severe mental health issues from being held against their will unless they are a harm to themselves or others. This is a big problem because people don’t stabilize on medication. An addict/alcoholic with severe mental illness cannot get sober unless that part is taken care of first. So, while I disagree with forcing people into treatment I feel the Ontario Mental Health Act needs to be changed to put people back into institutions to get stable. Once stable mentally the desire for sobriety may come easier. We still have an issue with housing, poverty, etc. Until a person is also stable in that area then the addiction cycle will not stop.

Davka Dave (AKA: Dave the Dude)

We are here to Pass It On

 

The other day during a debate over the Plain Language Big Book someone said that we shouldn’t criticize it as it’s not for us to decide how someone should get sober. I was astonished. The whole purpose of Alcoholics Anonymous is to show those who come after us how to get sober through Service, Unity Recovery. They are the three pillars of Alcoholics Anonymous.

                        Service – Help Others

                        Unity – The Fellowship

                        Recovery – Working the 12 Steps

If you want to tell people in the Fellowship not to criticize someone who got sober outside of Alcoholics Anonymous that is fair. However, to suggest we should tell people who come to AA for help “just to figure it out and whatever they feel will work is good” is just plain wrong and a possible death sentence.

I walked through the doors of AA a beaten man. I was, “restless, irritable, discontent”. If it wasn’t for the fellow alcoholics I met who told me about the 12 Steps, my sponsor who guided me through them, my home group that started me on service work and the Fellowship that made feel I was no longer alone I would not be sober today.

I’m not sure what the Plain Language Book will say but from what I hear it is taking away the arch that keeps Alcoholics Anonymous alive. I’ve heard that it will NOT talk about the allergy. It will NOT suggest that one needs a spiritual experience in order to lose the obsession over alcohol. Apparently, it’s being turned into a book of psychology.

The Big Book tells us that, “no human power could relieve us of our alcoholism”. That includes doctors, psychologist, psychiatrists, etc. That was true for me and for the dozens of fellow alcoholics I have heard share in my almost two decades of sobriety.

The Big Book is how I got sober and will remain the textbook I pass on to those who ask me for help.

Davka Dave (AKA: Dave the Dude)

The Fear is Real

 

I usually just write on recovery stuff but there is a lot of stuff going on in the world today that is effecting me. It is bringing out some fears that I have not experienced before. Since fear is a big part of recovery, I guess this is recovery related after all.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you have to be aware of the attack on Israel on October 7 by the terrorist group Hamas. There were 1,139 people (mostly civilians) killed, 240 people were taken as hostages. Many of the hostages have been beaten, raped and murdered. The attack was followed by Israel defending itself. If this had happened to any other country there would be little criticism. But since it’s Israel it is being heavily criticized by the woke left who support Hamas. I believe a big part of the left’s support of these terrorists is due to fact that the philosophy of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (IDE) has gone way beyond its original intent. It was originally supposed to make all people equal but like all good ideas it has been taken over by idiocy. Those who follow IDE now believe that anyone who has overcome challenges and become successful are now the enemies. Combine that with racist Critical Race Theory beliefs and chaos has fallen upon the West. Those of the Jewish race have been taking the brunt of this neo-racism that the woke left hold dear. Just look at university campuses across North America. Misguided woke leftists students have created encampments on campuses and are blocking Jewish students from attending classes. There are pro-terrorist marches blocking traffic and hospitals as well as causing chaos on a weekly basis across the West. I live in Canada and see people waiving pro-Hamas flags daily on bridges over Highway 401.

All of this has created a fear and caution in me that I have never experienced in my 54 years on this planet. I’ve begun wearing a Mogen David (Star of David) to show my support for Israel. However, in the back of my mind I’m always wary of someone saying something to me. I recently posted a funny video on Tiktok where I happened to be wearing a shirt with the Israel flag on it. The video had nothing to do with the current situation. Yet I received some very antiemetic comments including someone telling me I should dress like the Nazis made the Jews dress in the 30s.

The other day I called CAA for a tow as my car wouldn’t start. I happened to be wearing my Israel shirt and, of course, my Mogen David. The driver who came to tow my car was a really nice guy. However, in the back of my mind I kept worrying that he may have some negative views towards Jews. Luckily, this was not the case but I have never had these worries before.

This is nothing compared to what my grandparents went through when they lived in Europe and then came to Canada. I still remember my Bube (Grandmother) crying on a regular basis because all her relatives were murdered in the Nazi concentration camps. Before I was born there was a local golf course with a sign that said “No Dogs or Jews Allowed”.

I remind myself that most people are good and just want to live their lives peacefully

I pray that conflict in the Middle East is over soon and that the current rise in anti-Semitism reverses itself.

Dave the Dude

Stop getting so worked up!!

 

I hear many people cutting up advice/suggestions that are not in the Big Book without any explanation at all. I’ve made the odd joke myself. I think of lot of sayings/advice we hear does work if it’s put into proper context.  

I recently criticized the saying “meeting makers make it”. Let me qualify that criticism. If a newcomer comes around and just hears “meeting makers make it” and think all you have to do is go to meetings to stay sober then the majority of them will not. Meetings are, of course, important. When I first came into the rooms, I went to a ton of meetings. I didn’t do 90 in 90 (another saying people criticize) but approximately 180 in 90. Going to that many meetings grounded me, helped with my mental health and made me feel a part of the Fellowship. However, I also got a sponsor, began the Steps and got active. If I hadn’t done those three then I doubt I would have stayed sober. I wasn’t working at the time and going to those meetings, interacting with fellow alcoholics and helping run a service meeting got me out of myself and into recovery mode. For me it was an essential anchor to my recovery.

Another saying people criticize is “relapse is part of recovery”. If you’re talking about picking up a drink/drug then I completely agree. The relapse part of recovery is returning to your old ways, character defects and stinking thinking. There’s been many the time where I relapsed in my emotional sobriety. However, I had the tools necessary to realize what I did (or a sponsor to point it out to me) and was able to make the correction before I fell off that wagon and took a drink/drug.

There’s a large group of people who really dislike “acceptance is the answer to all my problems today” while another group of people love it. (Page 417, Big Book, 4^th Edition). I don’t see why people hate it so much. I have to accept situations as being what they are. The old me tried to change everything to fit what I expected, got a resentment because I couldn’t and then took a drink. I try my best to have my acceptance higher than my expectations so I don’t get a resentment. Acceptance doesn’t mean you accept abuse/violence. It means if you’ve experienced something like that you must accept that it has happened, look at your options (this includes asking for help) then proceed.

Finally, I keep seeing people getting really angry over the saying, “One Day at a Time”. To me this refers to staying sober. Before I came into the rooms a big hindrance to remaining sober was worrying about what I would do come holidays, my birthday, etc. One Day at a Time taught me to just tell myself I’ll stay sober for the next 24 hours and not worry about tomorrow. When tomorrow came, I did the same thing. One Day at a Time does not mean I don’t plan for the future. One has to do that. I have to plan future vacations, for upcoming events, who’s going to chair my home group next week, etc.

When I hear something, I try to look at it from all angles before rejecting it. I try to follow the famous Herbert Spencer quote from our Big Book:

 

There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all argument and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance.

This principle is contempt prior to examination.