Beyond Politics: Why Recovery Needs Freedom of Choice By Larry Smith

In the current debate about addiction policy, the loudest voices are often the most polarized. On one side, harm-reduction advocates argue for safe supply, supervised consumption, and a cycle of maintenance. On the other, recovery-first advocates call for detox, abstinence, and structured treatment. Each side caricatures the other: the right is painted as moralistic dinosaurs; the left as bleeding hearts content to keep people trapped in addiction.

Caught in this political tug-of-war are the very people who need help most.

Yet what we’ve lost in this debate is freedom of choice.

Forcing people into one path — whether it’s endless harm reduction or rigid abstinence — strips them of dignity. Addiction is complex. Some may need medical support for a season. Some may thrive in abstinence-based programs. Others may need a hybrid path. But when policy insists there is only one “compassionate” or “evidence-based” approach, it silences recovery voices and narrows the options available.

And let’s be clear: money drives much of this. Pharmaceutical companies profit from safe supply, from treatment drugs, and from the very cures they claim to offer. If we don’t question the dominant narrative, we risk creating a system that perpetuates addiction for profit, rather than freeing people from it.

In my upcoming novel, 2084: The Neuroxone Conspiracy, I imagine a future where this very dynamic plays out to its logical extreme: one medication, one system, one narrative — all enforced in the name of compassion. But the real story, both in fiction and in life, is that recovery can only thrive when people are offered choice.

We need to recover together. That means respecting all voices: harm reductionists who save lives today, people in abstinence-based recovery who prove long-term healing is possible, and everyone in between. True compassion isn’t about pushing one model. It’s about building a system that offers safety, dignity, and freedom.

Anything less isn’t compassion — it’s control.

Dr. Larry Smith is a chiropractor-turned-author based in Parksville. His books include Johnnie and Me and the forthcoming 2084: The Neuroxone Conspiracy.