STONE – Outrageous memo endorses illicit drug use in B.C. hospitals
By TODD STONE
MLA, Kamloops-South Thompson
RECENTLY, WE UNCOVERED a shocking memo sent to nurses that permits the use of drugs and weapons in hospital rooms.The entire memo is outrageous – under the NDP, illicit drug use and even drug trafficking in hospitals are not just tolerated but endorsed.
MLA Todd Stone.
Bravely, nurses are coming forward with horrifying stories of daily encounters with meth, cocaine, and fentanyl use. One report highlights meth being smoked in a unit just hours after the birth of a newborn.
We’ve also heard about a nurse who, just back from maternity leave, was exposed to someone smoking illicit drugs.
The exposure was so severe she needed emergency care and was advised to stop breastfeeding because of the risk to her newborn.
These sobering stories demand more than empty words and feigned outrage from David Eby. They demand accountability and action.
How many more nurses must be put at risk and infants exposed to illicit hard drugs before the NDP ends this dangerous decriminalization experiment in our hospitals?
Under the NDP government, once-safe public spaces like hospitals, Tim Hortons, and public transit have become hotspots for open drug use.
Almost daily we listen to David Eby and his NDP government express their feigned outrage and disgust at these growing incidents of open drug use. These are not isolated incidents. Instead, this is the new NDP normal for businesses and public spaces and comes as a direct result of their reckless decriminalization experiment.
We only have to look across the U.S. border to Oregon who recognized the chaos decriminalization was causing and has recently moved to re-criminalize drug possession.
Oregon has been cited multiple times by David Eby as a model for the pilot in British Columbia. Yet, he chooses to stick with decriminalization that’s been cancelled in Oregon and is failing British Columbians.
It’s clear the NDP’s decriminalization approach is not working, the results can be seen in the lives lost and chaos in our communities. Despite consistent warning signs, David Eby continues to double down on his failed experiment.
A new approach is needed. That’s why BC United has presented our Better is Possible plan, which would change direction and prioritize free treatment and recovery instead of free drugs for those struggling with addiction.
Our plan will deliver results through a multi-step approach to make treatment more accessible and affordable, increase services for complex mental health needs, and implement awareness and prevention education campaigns.
Nurses shouldn’t be exposed to drug smoke in emergency rooms, and people deserve to feel safe in public spaces. The explosion of open drug use as a result of the NDP’s reckless decriminalization is damaging our communities.
BC United will end the failed experiment and restore safety in our public spaces, hospitals, and communities.
Todd Stone was elected MLA for Kamloops-South Thompson in 2013, 2017, and again in 2020. He currently serves as the Official Opposition House Leader as well as the Critic for Jobs, Economic Recovery, Trade and Innovation.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
An article was published today by the Vancouver Sun. It details illicit drug use in the Kamloops hospital and others. Testimony from nurses include having fentanyl smoke blown in their face, agitated drug users flopping violently in their bed while naked with senior patients adjacent to them reeling in horror, and other outrageous stories like drug dealers being permitted to sell in the hospital.
This government needs to be thrown out on its rear end, and order needs to be restored. It’s high time we stigmatize drug users and their enablers. Unless of course you’re OK with the state of things, and having your sick loved ones in the kind of environment described in the article.
If you’re not, email your MLA, email the Minister responsible for the health authority, file bylaw complaints for every issue you come across. If establishments like The Loop are destroying your neighborhood, file complaints with the city. Speak to your MLA about the dangers these facilities bring to your neighbourhoods. Make drug addicts and their enablers as uncomfortable as possible. Nothing will change unless people start pushing back hard against this insanity. Put pressure on this do nothing city council to earn their keep and return the city and our facilities to the law abiding citizens of this community.
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A few questions?
Is this memo real? If so why didn’t you attach it to your editorial?
How old is memo? It could be 10 years old. Times change.
How are the nurses? Are they ok?
There are so many questions,especially in these political times when each party is trying to gaslight each other …..and I am so tired of it.
Bring and state the full facts, not half truths, and sound bites.
There is an old adage. Trust but verify. All politicians should follow that.
Here are some facts.
From Keith Baldrey. Global News.
On @GlobalBC today: latest Leger poll more bad news for BC United. Stuck in third place, 8 pts. behind BC Conservatives. Despite getting poor marks on handling key issues, NDP continues to sail along with a 17 pt. lead. #bcpoli
Be kind to each other.
Cooper
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The memo was sent July 7, 2023 by the Northern Health authority in Quesnel.
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Mel
Thank you…
Cooper
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Toxic compassion is ripping asunder our notions of civility and acceptable behaviour. Smoking meth in hospital rooms? Bringing weapons into hospitals unchallenged? They wouldn’t let you set foot in the place without a mask not long ago. But you can bring in your knife and smoke your fentanyl in your hospital bed?
This experiment has failed horribly and it was plain to see how this was going to turn out. Yet BC continues to advocate for more misery.
There will be no “reducing the stigma” BS around here. Drug addicts are a scourge. They’re dangerous, selfish and need to be dealt with as such. Throw them in jail, throw them into facilities, just get them off the street. Enablers should be deeply ashamed of the outcomes they’ve produced.
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A multi-step approach will not be “affordable” at all. An army of well-paid personnel (with unproven credentials) coupled with a layer or two of newly-minted bureaucrats would be needed which will add at least 10-plus billions to the provincial budget. For sure I don’t think the NDP will make a difference for the better but gratuitous platitudes won’t either.
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