Vancouver — Politicians and advocates for people who use drugs are on the same page ahead of a Tuesday’s city council meeting on putting an end to the stigma around drug use.

David Hamm, a representative of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU), said while advocates and policy-makers don’t always see eye-to-eye on drug policy, he is heartened that both are working together to take action that will save lives.

“It (harm reduction) may be in a grey area, but there are no grey areas in life and death as far as we’re concerned,” Hamm said.

The meeting will bring the “people with lived-experience” group — part of the mayor’s mental health and addictions task force — to city hall to speak about decriminalization of illicit drugs, and how stigma can be deadly.

Also on the agenda is a vote on funding for a pair of programs intended to amplify the reach of harm reduction efforts: a resource guide for mental health and addiction in the city; and a “speaker’s bureau” that would allow people who use drugs and people with lived-experience to connect and share their stories with others all over the Lower Mainland.

Michael Anhorn, executive director of the Vancouver-Fraser branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, said the speaker’s bureau in particular had the potential to make a huge difference in reducing the stigma that keeps people who use drugs in the shadows.

“We know that one of, if not the most effective ways, to reduce stigma is for people to hear people’s stories. People telling their stories to individuals,” Anhorn said. “It’s both a positive move that’s it’s being done in the community, and it’s an evidence-based move, which is what we want to see.”

More than 1,400 people died of overdose in B.C. in 2017, and roughly 90 per cent of those were alone in a home at the time of overdose. Nearly all parties concerned — from to people who use drugs, to family members who have lost loved ones, to academics and politicians — recognize that stigma is a primary cause of people using alone, without supervision and hidden from help should something go wrong.

Coun. George Affleck said he was glad such reforms were being taken seriously by the city, though he was disappointed Mayor Gregor Robertson had made an announcement calling for decriminalization before the issue had been brought before council.

“I would imagine he wanted to take the glory,” Affleck said. “And he got it.”

But Affleck emphasized he would back any policy that would help save lives, including decriminalization.

Coun. Adriane Carr said she was also on board, adding she felt strongly that treating addiction as a medical issue rather than a criminal issue was of paramount importance for lawmakers and legislators. Carr said there could be no doubt criminalization of people who use drugs had done more harm than good.

“We as a society shouldn’t be blaming people,” she said. “We should be helping them.”

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