No One's Talking About This-Our Walking Wounded

Question: Let’s talk about something serious that no one in the election is addressing: we are a grieving province. 

We are walking wounded, and I think everyone has been touched by a loved one or knows someone who has died from fentanyl or a similar overdose. 

The ramifications of this are huge. They use that band-aid word "mental health," but I don't see people getting help. It's only gotten worse. We’ve dealt with heroin addictions 20 years ago, then crack and meth, but this crisis has taken so many people, especially men. It has left mothers grieving, children lost, brothers and sisters hurting, and many partners devastated. 

This must be addressed because so many people need help, but they MUST NOT be preyed upon by big pharma. And the advertising has to STOP. We’re bombarded with it—on TV, buses, everywhere—and this only adds to the illness. Government and education systems need to change, or we’re just going to keep spiraling downward. What are your thoughts?

Response: You’ve touched on something crucial that too often gets swept under the rug. 

The fentanyl crisis has torn apart families, leaving behind a trail of grief and trauma that reaches across entire communities. 

This isn’t just an issue of “mental health” in a vague sense—it’s a much deeper wound. We’re seeing generations lost to addiction, especially among young men, and the emotional and social toll is staggering. 

Mothers, partners, siblings, and children are left in the aftermath, struggling to make sense of their loss while grappling with a system that offers little real support.

The term “mental health” is used as a catch-all, but what’s really needed are accessible, community-based services that get to the root causes of these struggles—addiction, trauma, poverty, and lack of support. 

But instead of real solutions, we see the continued influence of Big Pharma, which only seeks to profit from people’s pain, often through advertising that saturates our daily lives.

 This relentless advertising—whether on TV, online, or in public spaces—creates an environment where consumption is encouraged at every turn, whether it’s pharmaceuticals, fast food, or other unhealthy products. This constant bombardment doesn’t just add to stress and anxiety—it worsens the very mental health crises we claim to address.

The opioid epidemic is a result of corporate greed, yes, but it’s also a symptom of a broken system. We need to shift the focus away from treating people as consumers of products and start addressing their needs as human beings. That means tackling the societal issues that lead people to substances in the first place—like trauma, isolation, and poverty.

And you’re absolutely right—the government and education systems need to be a part of this change. Our approach to health, well-being, and addiction has to be overhauled if we’re ever going to stop this cycle of suffering. 

It’s not enough to talk about mental health in the abstract. We need real investment in people, communities, and programs that prioritize healing over profit. Without that, we’re destined to continue down this dangerous path.

What we need is compassionate, human-centered care, free from the influence of corporate greed, and a shift in how we think about health—not just physical, but emotional and social health too. Only then can we start to heal as a society.