The Opioid Crisis in Canada Essay Example

The opioid crisis in Canada is an ongoing battle that has caused significant morbidity and mortality nationwide. Between 2016 and 2019, roughly 12,800 Canadians died from opioid-induced overdoses (CIHI, 2022). Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, deaths have risen by 95%, equaling approximately 20 deaths per day (Government of Canada, 2022). Substance abuse is often a result of poor social determinants of health, including poverty, substandard environmental conditions, homelessness, and trauma. Consequently, marginalized communities often experience the highest rates of substance abuse (Fergus, 2022).

In his novel "Fighting for Space," Travis Lupick (2018) details the reality of the opioid crisis in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and the establishment of the Portland Hotel for those most marginalized. Furthermore, he highlights how a grassroots organization transformed the lives of thousands of people battling substance abuse by implementing harm reduction strategies to support those in active addiction and fight for legislative change. Throughout this essay, the lives of non-fictional "Fighting for Space" characters Bud Osborn, Dean Wilson, and Shelly Tomic will be examined to depict how poor social determinants of health consequently impact one's life. The intersectionality of the social determinants of health, specifically child development and social exclusion, influence an individual's well-being, with those subject to inadequate upbringings and social exclusion experiencing poor overall health and marginalization.

The interaction of poor child development and social exclusion causes those who have experienced both to have an increased risk of substance abuse disorder. Current research suggests that adequate childhood development leads to improved education, income, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle, thereby improving adult health (Friendly, 2016, p. 192). According to Dr. Gabor Mate, childhood trauma and poor development were common themes amongst patients and tenants at the Portland Hotel. Over his 12 years there, every patient he encountered had been physically, sexually, or emotionally abused as a child (Lupick, 2918, p. 208). 

Bud Osborn was a life-long drug user central to Vancouver's fight for harm reduction. As a child, he experienced numerous traumatic events, including his father hanging himself, his mother drinking excessively, and his grandmother's murder. Later on, he witnessed his mother's rape and claimed to "never again be intimate with another human being." In journalist Johann Hari's Ted Talk, he explains that it is our human nature to bond to others, and when that isn't possible, we bond to things (2015). In Osborn's case, he bonded to drugs and alcohol. Beginning a life of substance abuse, Bud Osborn became depressed and attempted suicide at 35. Though he survived, he was quickly discharged from the hospital without being detained or offered treatment, causing an immediate return to drugs. Liz Evans, the woman who opened the Portland Hotel to Downtown Eastside's most vulnerable residents, had once worked as an emergency department nurse in Vancouver. According to her, hospitals failed to adequately care for those with mental health or drug issues. "They would literally give up on the person… 'there is no outcome that is worth my time'" (Lupick, 2018, p. 49).

Dean Wilson was born to an average North American family and lived an average childhood. Following his parents' divorce when he was 12, his father abandoned him. Soon after, he tried heroin in hopes of feeling "normal" and "whole." According to developmental neuroscientist Marc Lewis, childhood traumas can lead to depression and anxiety, leading to experimentation and self-medication with drugs (Lupick, 2018, p. 291). At 16, Wilson was arrested for drugs and sent to prison. In his eyes, the judge who sentenced him assumed that any individuals involved in drugs were inherently "bad" and had no chance of a good outcome. After his release, he developed a heavy dependence on illegal substances, beginning a decades-long battle (Lupick, 2018, p. 233-235). As highlighted by the experiences of both Osborn and Wilson, the combination of childhood trauma and social exclusion has detrimental effects on one's physical and mental health, resulting in an increased risk of substance abuse disorder and a life-long addiction.