'Tough on crime' approach 'ineffective' at tackling root causes of inner-city meth issues, report suggests

A housing crisis? Definitely. A poverty crisis? You bet. A mental health crisis? Sure — but despite the media coverage, is Winnipeg also in the midst of a methamphetamine crisis? Not exactly, according to a new report.

There are a number of crises facing the inner city, but a "meth crisis" isn't among them — widespread addiction to the powerful street drug does exist, but it's a symptom of underlying social issues that aren't being adequately addressed by a provincial "tough on crime" approach, says the latest State of the Inner City report.

That assessment comes from community groups that provided input for the report, released Wednesday by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

The 15th annual report repeats concerns from past years about a lack of reliable long-term financial support for community organizations that are struggling to help marginalized groups in the city's poorest neighbourhoods.

That struggle continues with the mounting problem of meth use, which the report characterizes as a public health issue and a symptom of systemic issues including income inequality, poverty, homelessness, mental health issues and colonialism.

"The main point, I think, is that we need … a tonal shift in the way that we talk and think and respond to drugs," said report co-author Ellen Smirl, a researcher with the CCPA.

"What we need to understand is that there are root causes or harms associated with drug use, which is a nuance the report tries to capture."

The report acknowledges meth addiction and a related crime wave raise concerns, but it submits that the true nature of the problem is environmental and warrants a robust harm reduction approach that isn't fully reflected in current policy.

"The 'forest for the trees' is that we need to understand root causes if we are ever going to achieve big picture change," the report states, echoing recent messaging from Manitoba's New Democrats.

"We will never eliminate all drug use. Nor are such efforts necessary, as we know that drug exposure alone does not cause problematic substance use. If it could, the problem would occur in every person who tries drugs or alcohol."

Unique strengths, unique challenges

The racial and class makeup of the inner city produces unique strengths and challenges that require an approach tailored to the community's needs and that leverage the lived experience of drug users, the report says.

Vulnerable populations experience greater levels of socio-economic inequality and are more likely to form problematic drug use habits, and suffer more severe health outcomes as a result, it states.

Many are just struggling to get by, said West Broadway Community Organization executive director Greg MacPherson.

"There's a poverty epidemic in the inner city of Winnipeg and there's a lack of affordable housing for people," said MacPherson.

"There's a lack of mental health supports and people are turning to drugs to cope with the situations in their lives."

West Broadway community group takes 'caring' approach to meth use challenges

5 years ago

Duration 1:01

The West Broadway Community Organization's Greg MacPherson discusses changes surfacing in his community in recent years and how different organizations are coming together to try to find compassionate approaches to people in need of help.

MacPherson chairs the West Broadway Directors Network, a group of executive directors from organizations, facilities and faith groups in the neighbourhood, which has partnered with the Manitoba Research Alliance to develop a neighbourhood meth strategy. The inner-city report points to the West Broadway Methamphetamine Strategy as a positive example of community organizations pooling their knowledge and limited resources to better understand and address local drug issues.

MacPherson said the province is in "austerity mode" and that is making it harder for non-profits working in these communities to help.

"We have very shallow pockets," he said.

"In absence of large systemic change, or even adjustment at this level, I think we can still make a difference for our residents by working together and trying to give people an opportunity to make changes in their own lives."

Clarity lacking at policy level

The report says there is a lack of clarity among front-line community groups over exactly what recommendations from a trio of reports and plans — the province's Safer Streets Safer Lives Action Plan, the provincially commissioned Virgo report and the tri-level Illicit Dug Task Force — are being prioritized and guiding policy at the provincial level.

The Safer Streets initiative, announced by the Progressive Conservatives on the campaign trail this summer, commits to investing more in drug use prevention education in schools.

It promised to increase detox supports, add treatment facilities, and construct recovery housing units and drop-in centres. At least $8 million was also earmarked for police agencies to help crack down on the drug trade.

This approach is too focused on policing, education and treatment initiatives for individuals, the report suggests.

Approaches to treating mental health and problematic substance use focus on changing "physiology, thoughts, feelings, and behaviour of individuals," the report says, "while paying little attention to the broader environment within which people develop their substance use problem."

It says research has shown long-term recovery for "people with the most severe problematic substance use may have more to do with family and community resources than individual qualities or a particular treatment protocol."

Portrayals of meth use as a "crisis" by police and in the media perpetuate a misunderstanding of the issue as a primarily criminal one, rather than a public health concern, the report suggests.

Criminalizing drug use could make things worse and treatment and education won't work without first ensuring the people who are turning to meth to cope have their basic needs met, said Smirl.

"How do we develop a sense of hope and meaning and belonging and purpose in people's lives? I think that a good way to do that is through developing the community-level responses," said Smirl. 

"However, that can't be done unless we're actually addressing the basic needs of people that are living in the community, and that is fundamentally the role of government."