This Is My Brain on Political Rhetoric

I have so many questions.

We’ve seen it before. Election season comes, and political parties see an opportunity to capitalize on human nature for their own gain. They turn up the heat on topics like addiction, focusing on the most extreme, visible, and emotional cases. They know this evokes fear and discomfort. Then, like any good dealer, they offer a quick fix: more treatment beds, stricter rules, or shutting down harm reduction services. It feels like a solution, a sweet hit of relief, like something’s finally being done. But let’s be honest, that quick hit of relief is just like the very addiction they’re trying to fight — it doesn’t last, and it doesn’t get to the root of the problem.

Addiction affects communities everywhere, and while each region may face its unique challenges, the political response tends to follow a familiar pattern no matter where you are. Whether you’re in month 10,001 of the American election or, like me, nearing the end of a Provincial election in British Columbia — location and faces may change — but the ‘ideas’ and rhetoric remain consistent.

Across the world, we hear the same refrains: politicians pointing fingers, calling for tougher enforcement, or promising quick fixes like ‘more beds’ and ‘crackdowns’ without addressing the deeper issues that fuel addiction. It’s always easier to sell the public on punishment or short-term relief than to offer real, lasting strategies for prevention, care, and community support.

This is not a local phenomenon. Politicians everywhere peddle quick fixes for complex issues, feeding the public’s desire for immediate results without offering real, long-term solutions. These strategies might generate votes in the short term, but they don’t solve anything. They don’t fund community-based organizations, they don’t address the trauma driving so much of addiction, and they certainly don’t foster environments for healing and recovery.

For this piece, I focus on the election that is closest to home for me, but even if the names don’t match, see if the rhetoric sounds familiar. As you read this, consider how your own local or national politicians frame addiction. Do they focus on punishment, or are they proposing real, long-term strategies for prevention and care? Are they truly willing to look beyond the quick fixes and invest in the deeper work of systemic change?

What They Get Wrong About What They Get Right

David Eby (NDP) gets part of the equation right with harm reduction, but he lacks a fundamental understanding of what Harm Reduction is. Harm reduction isn’t about keeping people alive until they’re ready for treatment. It’s about reducing the harm to communities and the people within them — including those who use drugs. Harm reduction positively impacts crime rates, takes pressure off the healthcare system, and saves lives in the process. It’s not some temporary band-aid; it’s an essential part of making communities safer and healthier.

John Rustad (Conservatives) is onto something with his call for accountability, but accountability isn’t just for safe consumption sites. Accountability is about the entire system — healthcare providers, law enforcement, and yes, even the politicians themselves. Real accountability means ensuring that everything we do is safe, ethical, and works for the unique needs of each community. It’s not about enforcing conformity; it’s about building trust by doing what’s right for everyone involved.

Sonia Furstenau (Greens), gets closer to a sustainable solution than anyone. Speaking to some of the root causes of addiction — poverty, trauma, and housing instability. But even she misses a critical component: law enforcement. If we’re not addressing the criminal enterprises pushing the toxic supply of drugs into our communities, we’re ignoring one of the biggest drivers of this crisis. We need a plan that’s as tough on the supply as it is compassionate about the demand.

What No One Talks About

There’s a huge problem with focusing so much on the most controversial forms of addiction: it pushes those with less obvious, more socially acceptable struggles further into the shadows. The biggest barrier to individuals seeking support? Not identifying as having a problem.

It’s not a coincidence that not a single politician has addressed alcohol, even though it’s the most harmful and costly substance in Canada, and runner up to tobacco as the most harmful substance worldwide. Alcohol devastates lives, families, and communities, but it’s never front and center in these discussions.

• Could it be that to talk about alcohol would mean talking about bars as safe consumption sites and the sale of alcohol as government regulated safe-supply?
• Could it be that to talk seriously about alcohol would repel the very voters they are trying to woo?
• Could it be that it’s a lot easier to sell the idea of involuntary or mandated treatment for addiction when you don’t mention alcohol?

That’s part of the deal.

By spotlighting the most extreme cases, politicians make us feel better about our own behaviours and the behaviours of those closest to us. It’s a clever trick that focuses the problem on them, not us. It’s a trick that makes it easier to believe in simple solutions because it distances us from the complexities of addiction. We might relate to the more common examples of addiction, but then we might also then see that there isn’t a single simple solution — and that’s not what they want.

Addiction isn’t just happening in the streets — it’s happening in living rooms, caucus meetings, and everywhere in between.

The Real Problem

The biggest thing they all get wrong? Humility. They act like their fix is the best and only fix, and they’re quick to make the other side the villain. But that’s the problem with political rhetoric — it’s all about pointing fingers instead of working together. Idle hands point the most fingers, and politicians are great at blaming everyone else.

Addiction is too complex and too important for sound bites or single-party fixes. We need all of them, and all of us, working together. Real solutions don’t come from division, they come from collaboration — from admitting that no one has the full answer but that together, we can find diverse solutions that work.

Just Say No

If we want to truly address addiction, we have to resist the temptation of the easy, feel-good answer.

• Just say no to fear-driven narratives that make us feel like something’s being done when it’s not.
• Just say no to politicians who act like they have all the answers.
• Just say no to the idea that one party or one policy can fix something as complex as addiction.

Instead, let’s push through the discomfort. Let’s demand collaboration, real accountability — not just for a select few, but for everyone in the system — and solutions that are as complex as the problem itself.

It’s easy to get hooked on political promises. They make us feel better, like change is happening. But real change? It takes time, effort, and the courage to admit that the answers won’t come wrapped in a neat package.

So when you find yourself in the quiet solitude of the voters box — slow down and take a deep breath. Ask yourself if you are voting for the person that gave you the temporary quick hit of relief, or if you are voting for the person you believe will do the hard work alongside you.

This election season and beyond, let’s resist the quick fix and push for the harder, long-term work that will actually make a difference.