The speaker argues that abstinence and harm reduction aren't opposing strategies but points on the same continuum. The U.S. has fewer harm-reduction programs while Canada is shifting toward abstinence-only policies, a trend the speaker sees as a step backward. Both approaches share the same goal: helping people with addiction.
I think I'd like to see more people engage with that kind of thing, 'cause right now there's such divisiveness around harm reduction and abstinence. And I don't know how it is in the States. I know you guys have a lot less in terms of harm reduction work there and a lot more institutionalized abstinence. And that's where we're moving to in Canada right now, which is what scares me. You know, but I wish more people had that broad, broader mindset and that open-mindedness that we talk about in a lot of programs, don't always practice in a lot of programs, but open-mindedness around harm reduction, 'cause it's really just part of a spectrum. There's no difference. Abstinence is just the most extreme form of harm reduction or the most final form. It's, and sometimes it's the most straightforward for a lot of folks, 'cause you don't have to worry about managing substances. You just don't do any of them. But it's all part of the same spectrum. And I'm not, I'm not at war with people who are in recovery and I hope they're not at war with me 'cause we all care about the addict who's suffering, so to speak.
