The Singing Red Bear Foundation expressed disappointment with the recent Provincial Budget, citing a lack of focus on dealing with tainted drugs and the opioid crisis ravaging the province. The Foundation’s Chairman, Joseph Fourre, was dismayed at the biased distribution of the financial deviation, which neglected the urgent need to save lives from drug-related deaths.
Fourre expressed concern that the government’s response to the opioid crisis was inadequate, noting that recreational drugs were being poisoned with Fentanyl, killing young people at an alarming rate. He argued that the government was not taking the issue seriously enough, calling for a comprehensive drug awareness program to warn people of the dangers of tainted drugs.
“We need to stop thinking that only addicts are dying from opioids. No one is safe from any kind of drug use, recreational or otherwise, and this budget failed to address that,” Fourre said.
For Fourre, the issue hits close to home. He spoke of his own son, Harlan Fourre, who died in April of last year from drugs tainted with Fentanyl in The Pas. “He wasn’t an addict. He got convinced to try something, and it killed him. Perhaps if we had a comprehensive drug awareness program warning him of the dangers of tainted drugs, he would still be alive today.”
While $11 million was allocated to various departments covering addictions and mental health, no financial aid was directed towards recreational drugs tainted with Fentanyl through any kind of awareness program.
In response, the Singing Red Bear Foundation has launched the No Thanks I’m Good Campaign to warn recreational drug users of the dangers of tainted drugs and Fentanyl poisoning. The campaign’s main objective is to provide information to youth and recreational drug users so that they can make informed choices and choose to live.
“We need to stop lulling them into a false sense of security with the present messaging—only addicts die,” Fourre warned. “We need to send the message that no one is safe from any kind of drug use, recreational or otherwise.”
The Singing Red Bear Foundation’s campaign is a much-needed initiative to raise awareness about the dangers of tainted drugs and Fentanyl poisoning. With a comprehensive drug awareness program, more lives can be saved from drug-related deaths. The government needs to take this issue seriously and allocate adequate funds to address it effectively. It is only by working together that we can make our communities safe and healthy.
~Matthias J. Johnson is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Thompson Citizen. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
