Addiction is a social and political issue, a leading expert in the field says.
Simon Fraser University Prof. Bruce Alexander addressed the City of Vancouver's third "Creating a Culture of Prevention" workshop yesterday and told the audience the medical definition of addiction - "a brain disease" - is too narrow and has led to flawed drug strategies the world over.
"It's not a very good doctrine. It rules out effective prevention and it really rules out most of the addictions out there," he said. "The ultimate problem is that there are a lot of people that just don't have much to live for, so they latch onto things."
He cited the Aboriginal population in Canada as a prime example.
"Their culture was broken down by white guys and they went from virtually no addiction to universal addition," he said. "Over and over again, you'll find the proof [in history]. When culture breaks down, you'll find addictions."
What we need, he argued, is change on a political level.
But as with most things, money seems to get in the way of passionate governance.
Look no further than the provincial government's decision to raise the gambling limit on BCLC's PLayNow website from $120 to $9,999.
"I believe they've said, 'If they don't gamble it there, they'll gamble it somewhere else.' We have to suck money out of the most vulnerable of us so we can fund our mega-projects," Alexander said.
"And I don't mean any specific mega-project. Just think of your own... perhaps one of Olympic proportions."
"Over and over again, you'll find the proof ... When culture breaks down, you'll find addictions."
