In a city where talk of drug addiction typically includes discussion about the benefits of the Insite supervised injection site, David Berner appears to be a lone voice in the wilderness with his belief in abstinence-based recovery programs.
“No, actually there’s lots of us out there,” said Berner in response to the suggestion he represents a minority view in how to break a drug habit in Vancouver.
Berner, who lives in the city, is the executive director of the Drug Prevention Network of Canada and runs addiction therapy groups at the Orchard Recovery Centre on Bowen Island.
On Feb. 19, he will moderate a free public forum on drug addiction at the Hillcrest Community Centre that will feature four people who largely share Berner’s views.
None of the panelists, he acknowledged, support the Insite supervised injection site as a method to help people on the road to recovery.
The panelists are Brenda Plant of the Turning Point Recovery Society, AnnMarie McCullough of Faces and Voices of Recovery Canada, addictions psychiatrist Dr. William Hay and Candace Plattor, an author and registered clinical counsellor.
“They represent a tip of the iceberg,” said Berner, referring to the many people working in prevention and treatment in Vancouver and the suburbs.
The forum is billed as an opportunity to “hear and be heard on what addictions really are, how they work, what you can do to find real solutions and how your community is truly involved in the problem and the answers.”
Although Berner said abstinence is the best method to break a drug habit, he pointed out that prescription drug alternatives such as methadone help with recovery.
“Many people don’t use that but there’s a lot of ways to get clean,” he said. “We’re not saying you’ve got to go cold turkey, although that’s what I’ve known in my work. But there’s a thousand or million ways to get there. We just believe that most people don’t know they exist.”
Berner, who is also a longtime film and stage actor, said he was “furious” when he heard news of the apparent heroin overdose death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman this past week.
Hoffman’s death has highlighted the dangers of addiction and the need for drug users to seek help, said Berner, noting the 46-year-old left three kids behind.
But Insite, he added, is not the answer.
“You think giving a place for people to shoot up is helpful?” he said. “It’s not, it just keeps them in the game.”
Studies published in various medical journals including the Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine concluded Insite saves lives and health care dollars, reduces disease transmission and does not increase crime or perpetuate active drug use.
In 2012, Insite counsellors made more than 5,000 referrals to social and health service agencies, the majority of which were for detox and addiction treatment.
Insite has operated for more than 10 years and recorded two million injections without an overdose death, according to Vancouver Coastal Health.
The forum begins at 7 p.m.
mhowell@vancourier.com
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