Chasing the Dragon in the DTES - Opiate Addiction

            Normally I don't take photos like these, but sometimes they need to be taken. Just so the story can be told. This is the 'Downtown East Side' of Vancouver or DTES. Addictions are endemic and the quiet alley is misleading in ways. You'll see addicts going to quieter locations to shoot up I think because there is less chance of thievery when they are out of it. The downside is that if it is too quiet, if they overdose (OD) they might not be found and they die. There are so many people in this area, addicts included, who carry Naloxone kits that if they are found in time, they'll likely live. I've seen people wander out of corners saying their buddy is down some stairwell and is OD'ing and people call 911. 

The sad and/or aggravating part is that they will likely do it again, and again, in the near future, diverting resources that may be needed for people suffering from serious but non-self-inflicted injuries and sickness. It is a strain on a publicly financed health insurance system that people forget has to be paid for, because the cost is hidden in taxes. And there are groups who believe it is wrong to actively encourage them to seek treatment and just want to supply clean needles or free drugs. 

The reality is that the longer people stay on these drugs, the more opportunities they have to die from overdosing. And the more crime is committed because they just cannot work while on heroin. They are useless to everyone, especially themselves. And British Columbia, a province of 5 million people, has seen overdose deaths spike to over 1700 last year. And property and violent crime is increasing. People, addiction is not a disease it is the combination result of people choosing to take the drugs recreationally, and sometimes for real medical necessity, and the government medical system not being willing to pay for helping people get weened off of the drugs physically and most importantly, mentally. 

So that people understand my point of view, I've had to be on strong, strong opiates for pain for nearly a year around a dozen years ago (80mg Oxycontin up to 4 times a day plus Oxycodone (Percocet) for breakout pain). So yes, I know what opiate addiction is; you can't take that much and not be addicted. I got myself off of the drugs physically, within months of spinal surgery to correct an injury. But it took me years to get over their effects mentally. Opiates completely screw up your brain chemistry so that pleasure is difficult because of how hard the stuff triggers that party of your brain. Your normal brain responses just don't have the same effect, and you will suffer depression and feel the need to take it again just to feel mentally pain free. 

When offered (something not really done in British Columbia), medical systems can often do a half decent job getting people off of opiates physically, but they almost always utterly fail with the follow through (again this applies in spades to British Columbia). And that is why most go back to it. To end, I have sympathy for these folks, and I don't have sympathy, because I know it is possible to get oneself off the stuff. But I have outright animosity for the 'do no harm' idiots who through their misguided 'concerned citizen' dogma, keep people on opiates long enough for the drugs to kill them.

Taken in: Canada / British Columbia / Vancouver / Chinatown de Vancouver (show map)

Taken on: August 6, 2021

Tags:

opiates

opiate addiction

addiction

Downtown East Side

dtes

alley

do no harm

Vancouver

British Columbia

Canada

Gastown

Street Photography

Street Story Telling

Street Photo

Black and White

bnw

noiretblanc

people

Nikon

D850

Tamron SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD G2 A025 (Nikon F)

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Camera: Nikon D850, f/2.8, 1/800 sec, 200mm, ISO 640 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D850
Lens:	Tamron SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD G2 A025 (Nikon F)
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/800)
Focal Length:	200mm
ISO:	640
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Capture One 20 Windows
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