Lethbridge residents sure have had a lot to say regarding drugs, crime, and violence recently, Even though the drug crisis has been in this city for nearly 5 years, no one was discussing it until the supervised consumption site opened a year and a half ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though crime was increasing and public drug usage was on the rise, it wasn\u2019t until the SCS was announced that people started rallying around how terrible the city had become.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve read hundreds\u2014if not thousands\u2014 of comments from people who are opposed to the SCS. That opposition varies by degrees, but it often comes down to common points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are the 9 myths people often use when opposing the supervised consumption site and why exactly they\u2019re just myths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Shutting down the SCS will not improve any metric these opponents are worried about. It won\u2019t reduce crime, it won\u2019t reduce drug usage, and it won\u2019t get people off their addiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The crime, drug usage, and addiction exist independent of the SCS. They were here before the SCS, and they will be here if the SCS shuts down. Plus drug-related deaths would increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It most definitely is working. The SCS was designed to reduce harm, specifically, to prevent deaths and reduce the risk of infection. The staff at the SCS have reversed thousands of overdoses in the last year and a half, and none of them have resulted in deaths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over a quarter of a million instances of drug use has occurred in the SCS since it opened. That\u2019s a quarter of a million incidents that didn\u2019t happen in public, thereby reducing the net amount of drug debris in public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its location was chosen because of the close proximity to the highest concentration of public drug use. Placing it close to that concentration would increase the effectiveness of the facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moving it away from that concentration would reduce usage, and all the activity people claim is happening around the SCS would still be there. It may even increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And even so, where would you put it? No one wants it in their neighbourhood, and if you put it out in the middle of nowhere, it most definitely won\u2019t be used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crime has not gone up because of the SCS. The drug crisis arrived in Lethbridge nearly 5 years ago. The crime associated with increased drug activity came with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because this myth seems to be the most prevalent, I\u2019m going to spend the most time on it. I have three datasets I\u2019ll discuss regarding crime in Lethbridge over the last two yeas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First let\u2019s take the crime severity index that everyone loves to cite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n