09/29/2026
This is the normal stance of somebody immediately after using intravenous drugs. Now imagine trying to get a used needle into a small hole in a metal box in this condition.
Yet somehow, our municipal and provincial governments seem to believe the solution to discarded needles is to simply install more and more disposal boxes. Never mind the fact that a large percentage of these needles are already being found in and around areas where disposal stations have been installed. These boxes have become little more than pockmarks—symptoms of a sick and mismanaged society.
Our government needs to take this problem out of the hands of the private sector and recognize it for what it is: a public health issue. Yes, housing and access to mental health services are essential long-term solutions. But right now, we are facing an epidemic of discarded biohazards that is making the broader community unsafe, while the programs intended to address the problem appear to be having little effect.
HIV is up. Overdoses are up. Crime is up. Murder is up.
Even the people struggling with addiction whom I interview will tell you that when they pool their money, they almost always purchase the smallest amount of drugs available. If $30 is the minimum, then as soon as they scrape together $30, it all goes into one needle, even if that means sharing it.
And why? Because the urge and torment of addiction are so overwhelming that taking the time to divide it up becomes an afterthought. In many cases, the amount purchased is simply too small to separate into two or more syringes in the first place.
So how can we continue pretending that the current approach is working?
We are now raising an entire generation of children who are being denied something as simple as the freedom to play safely outside. In what sane society should the consequences of adult behaviour come at the expense of our children's safety and freedom?
Every proposed solution I see seems to become more ludicrous than the last. At some point, we need to stop treating the symptoms, acknowledge the scale of the problem and start demanding solutions that actually work.
