Articles of Kris C

You're right; mentioning the pharmacy could add relevant context, given the article's focus on diverted opioids and regulatory oversight. Here's an updated version: **Alt Text:** "Two police cars parked in front of a pharmacy on a busy street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, with people gathered near storefronts and sidewalks lined with personal belongings, reflecting the visible impacts of the opioid crisis."
Policy

How Diverted Opioids Are Flooding British Columbia’s Streets

British Columbia’s opioid crisis has entered a new and complex phase, with recent investigations revealing that a significant portion of prescribed opioids intended for ...
Individuals demonstrate drug-checking technology using an FTIR spectrometer at a harm reduction facility, with advocates and officials observing the process.
Addiction

How Drug Checking is Reducing Overdose Deaths in BC

Drug checking services are a frontline defence against fatal overdoses in British Columbia. With Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside at the epicentre of the crisis, these ...
Scientist wearing gloves and a face mask examines a cannabis plant in a controlled cultivation environment, highlighting advancements in Canada's legal cannabis industry.
Policy

Canada’s Cannabis Industry Six Years After Legalization

Six years after legalization, Canada’s cannabis market faces high taxes, strict regulations, and ongoing competition from the illicit market. In 2018, Canada became the ...
Two individuals on a Vancouver sidewalk, one crouching to assist the other who is lying down near a makeshift shelter of cardboard, with a city bus and pedestrians visible in the background.
Policy

Can Alberta’s Recovery Model Solve BC’s Opioid Crisis?

British Columbia, once a trailblazer in harm reduction and addressing the opioid crisis, faces unrelenting challenges in reducing overdose deaths and mitigating urban disorder. ...
An overhead view of a supervised drug consumption site in an urban setting, featuring a yellow tent labeled 'OPS - Overdose Prevention Society,' surrounded by individuals engaging with staff and accessing services, against a backdrop of graffiti-covered walls.
Addiction

British Columbia Urged to Improve Data on Supervised Consumption Sites

Recent developments in Ontario have reignited the conversation around supervised consumption sites, compelling British Columbia to reassess its approach. While Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is ...
A neatly arranged set of naloxone kits, including vials, syringes, and nasal sprays, placed on a clean surface. Each kit features clear labeling and step-by-step usage instructions designed for quick emergency response during an opioid overdose.
Addiction

How Naloxone Works and Why It’s Essential for Canada’s Opioid Crisis

Canada’s opioid crisis has escalated to a public health emergency over the past decade, with overdose deaths reaching alarming levels. In the past eight ...
Addiction

Are Overdose Prevention Sites Making a Difference in British Columbia?

In 2016, British Columbia faced an unprecedented public health emergency. The opioid crisis, driven by an increasingly toxic drug supply, was claiming lives at ...
People in distress standing alongside East Hastings Street in Downtown Eastside Vancouver
Community

The Downtown Eastside Phenomenon Where a Neighbourhood Becomes a Metaphor

Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside has long symbolized the complexities of urban inequality, its streets reflecting a deep convergence of poverty, addiction, and systemic neglect. Once ...
Two men pictured on the sidewalk in visible distress leaning against the wall of graffiti
Order

Reclaiming Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside for a Future of Order and Equity

In Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, visible disorder has become the defining feature of public spaces. Encampments, open drug use, and vandalized properties paint a picture ...
Image of several prescription bottles standing on the table
Healthcare

Hydromorphone’s Role in BC Evolves Beyond Its Intended Purpose

British Columbia’s response to its deadly overdose epidemic has been nothing short of revolutionary. Programs like MySafe in Downtown Eastside and tablet injectable opioid ...
Picture of a table with a scale on it and a small plastic bag with a white substance on the top
Policy

How BC’s 2.5-Gram Decriminalization Rule Shapes the Overdose Crisis

British Columbia’s groundbreaking drug decriminalization policy is rewriting the rules of harm reduction, but a closer look reveals a complex reality where the interplay ...
Image of dense Vancouver Downtown architecture with North Shore Mountains in the background
Community

Science or Activism? The Ethical Maze of Research in Downtown Eastside

In Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, one of Canada’s most heavily studied yet persistently misunderstood communities, the intersection of research, ethics, and activism raises difficult questions. ...
Image of a person holding a bag filled with blue pills in front of their face
Addiction

Nitazenes Poised to Eclipse Fentanyl in Canada’s Opioid Crisis

As Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside struggles with the devastating toll of fentanyl, a new and potentially deadlier class of synthetic opioids—nitazenes—is making its way into ...
Image capturing a person laying on the sidewalk of Vancouver Downtown Eastside next to a closed business
Addiction

Harm Reduction Paradox of Downtown Eastside Vancouver

Nestled within Vancouver’s glittering skyline is the Downtown Eastside, a neighbourhood teetering between compassion and catastrophe, where harm reduction policies have sparked as much ...
The image captures a grieving father over loss of his daughter to drug overdose caused by safe supply drugs
Addiction

Is Safer Supply a Form of Harm Reduction or a Cause of Addiction?

The notion of safer supply, once seen as a beacon of hope in Canada’s battle against the opioid crisis, is now sparking widespread debate. ...
The image captures results of MRI testing of a patient who underwent nonfatal opioid overdose
Healthcare

Canadian Healthcare Gaps for Survivors of Non-Fatal Overdoses

For years, Canada has grappled with a devastating overdose crisis, with thousands of people succumbing to the lethal effects of toxic drugs, particularly fentanyl. ...
A picture of hands holding syringes and other drug paraphernalia distributed as part of harm reduction efforts in British Columbia
Addiction

The Harm Reduction Experiment Hits a Wall in British Columbia

The nation stands at a crossroads as escalating overdose deaths and public disorder expose the shortcomings of progressive drug policies. What was once considered ...
Crowd matching down the East Hastings in Vancouver, BC in support of decriminalization and changes to the Drug Policy
Addiction

Is BC’s Drug Decriminalization Failing to Deliver Results?

British Columbia has long been grappling with a deadly overdose epidemic driven by toxic, unregulated street drugs. Since 2016, more than 14,000 lives have ...
Pictured are safe, tested substances made available by DULF Program in Downtown Eastside Vancouver
Addiction

DULF’s Radical Experiment in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

In the heart of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES), a neighbourhood plagued by addiction, a bold experiment unfolded. The Drug User Liberation Front (DULF) emerged ...
Image of an arm with fentanyl patch administering a safe dose of the drug
Addiction

Using Fentanyl Patches to Address Vancouver’s Overdose Epidemic

The opioid crisis continues to claim lives across North America, and British Columbia stands on the frontlines of this public health emergency. A key ...
Photo capturing drug paraphernalia scattered across the sidewalk of Downtown Eastside Vancouver
Policy

BC Drug Policy: An Alternative Vision Amid Controversy

As British Columbia approaches a provincial election, the BC Conservatives have drawn attention with their approach to addressing the drug crisis, particularly in Vancouver’s ...