Addiction Pt. II

I am still working on In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts. It is not a book to be gobbled back, but must be savoured and contemplated.

I am a supporter of Harm Reduction and have been for some time. Towards the end of the book, Dr. Maté begins a impassioned argument in favour of both decriminalization and harm reduction. I am still rather ambivalent about decriminalization, not because I don't believe that criminalization is leading to drug cartels and danger to both society and the addict, because I am conscious of the US's reaction. They unabashedly continue their War on Drugs, desite the terrible consequences and less-than-satisfactory result. And they continue to pressure others to do the same.

Anyways, I have some pretty strong feelings about your local neighbourhood addict sitting on the street corner, begging for money, or scrounging through the garbage bin.

The feeling I have is sadness. And pity.

For a couple of weeks, on Fridays, Hubby and I headed to the DTES to hand out homemade sandwiches. We walked around and when we saw someone who looked like they could use a sandwich, we offered them one. We didn't go to the roughest areas of town, mind you, and we were somewhat selective in our sandwich offering. It can be difficult to tell if someone is homeless or just works a bit of a dirty job.

There seems to be a fairly popular sentiment of "Hey go out and get a job! I work hard for my money, why the hell can't you?"
Nevermind the logistical difficulties of this (Homeless person A hasn't showered in a while, doesn't have clean clothes, may not have eaten, may have an addiction to feed, can't brush their teeth, has no CV nor a way to print it out, doesn't have a telephone to be called on for interviews, has no bank account to cash a cheque and may or may not have a SIN), but there are deeper and darker issues at play.

One evening, after handing out sandwiches, I called my mom to say thank you. These people that I had just offered food to did not have a mom like that, it's almost guaranteed. They didn't grow up with all the things I did. Yes, I realize some of them came from wealthier families than mine. Some were given cars, had their education paid for and inherited large sums of money. But is that all there is to parenting? Of course not. I don't think anyone believes that.

According to Dr. Maté, nearly 100% of his clients have been sexually, physically or emotionally abused. Almost all the female sex trade workers admit to being sexually abused.

If the number is 75%, which apparently is an extremely safe estimate, then imagine how that must change our perception of these people. Anger, hostility and resentment must change to sympathy.

Now I realize that there are plenty of people who have been abused and have triumphed. They have become well-adjusted, successful contributors to our society. Congratulations to them! However, this marginalized population has not managed that. Is it their fault? Or were their circumstances more severe? Perhaps not, but nevertheless, they have not managed to integrate into society. Should we punish them for their shortcomings? Or is living on the streets or in a bed-bug ridden hotel, selling your body and soul in an attempt to escape pain, and being subjected to abuse and discrimination not punishment enough?

Dr. Maté writes an extremely passionate and in-depth argument about this that I would not dare try to emulate. But just a closing thought:

I have heard that "these people have failed society. We should just lock them all up. Screw their rights!" I think that is exactly backwards. Society has failed them. Shame on us.