Nick Mitchell is currently the Provincial Medical Director for Addictions and Mental Health, and we're grateful he was willing to do this interview.  Below is a table of contents for the interview.  If you have any feedback or there are questions you wish Tim had asked, email Tim ([email protected]) and let him know.

3:06 Who is Nick and why he’s well positioned to speak into the opioid crisis and about harm reduction in Alberta.
3:55 Introducing the opioid crisis and how it’s similar/dissimilar to “drug addiction” generally
6:00 A quick history of the opioid crisis… Tim talks addiction to pleasure
8:22 Profiles of Albertan Opioid addicts according to local data
14:09 Fatalities in Alberta from Opioids (and alcohol)
17:53 Introducing “Harm Reduction”
22:00 Comparing harm reduction and abstinence based approaches to addiction treatment
24:00 Introducing newer harm reduction practices like safe injection sites, needle exchanges, etc.
28:20 Myths about opioid use and treatment
33:40 Are we saying, “Keep on sinning?” Is substance use a moral issue? (This is picked up again later at 110:45)
37:40 What stats are you counting to evaluate harm reduction programs?
42:55 How do you determine if safe injection sites are effective?
46:55 What convinces you safe injection sites are a good idea?
50:00 What would it take to change your mind on harm reduction (needle exchange/safe injection sites)?
52:45 Why do we have to help if someone doesn’t want to get well?
57:40 Nature versus nurture
58:45 Substance dependency versus addiction
59:35 Tim get’s longwinded asking about four big issues - Is it a sin to use drugs, nature versus nurture part 2, victim mentality & is harm reduction enabling and actually helping people hurt themselves?
110:45 Is substance use sinful?
114:10 Actions steps (learning, donating, volunteering)
122:07 A few reflections from Tim after this interview - where I want to know more, am repenting, and the questions and struggles I still have

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