Addiction

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 ...
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 blurred figure walking through a brightly lit classroom or lecture hall filled with empty white chairs, with a stack of books and papers placed on one chair in the foreground, symbolizing education, learning, or community programs.
Addiction

Targeted Interventions to Reduce Youth Substance Use Disorders

Substance use among Canada’s youth has reached alarming levels, demanding immediate and coordinated action. In 2023, nearly 20% of young Canadians reported experimenting with ...
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 ...
Addiction

Downtown Eastside’s Falling Overdose Rates Challenge What We Think We Know

The toxic drug crisis in British Columbia’s Downtown Eastside—a neighbourhood at the epicentre of overdose fatalities—has presented an unexpected, albeit cautious, glimmer of hope. ...
A picture of doctor holding hand of a teenage patient in hospital environment
Addiction

Harm Reduction Barriers Facing Youth in British Columbia

Harm reduction in British Columbia has led the charge against substance-related harm. Yet, the province’s youth—some of the most vulnerable among those who use ...
An image of an overdose victim lying on the ground next to a syringe
Addiction

October Marks First Drop in Overdose Deaths in BC Since 2020

For the first time since 2020, British Columbia has recorded a notable decline in overdose deaths, with 155 fatalities in October 2024—a 9% decrease ...
Picture of a busy Vancouver Downtown Eastside street next to safe drug use site
Addiction

New Study Challenges the Effectiveness of Harm Reduction in British Columbia

Nearly a quarter of participants in BC’s safer supply program are diverting prescribed opioids, according to a recent Vancouver-based study. The findings also reveal ...
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 ...
Picture of a bottle of prescription medication Methadone laying on a sidewalk
Addiction

Fentanyl Crisis Sparks Battle Over Opioid Treatment in BC

As the opioid crisis deepens across British Columbia, the province has made strides in expanding access to treatments like methadone and buprenorphine/naloxone for those ...
Image of acupuncture needles inserted in patient skin in an attempt to subdue the withdrawal effects of drug addiction
Addiction

The Potential of Acupuncture in Treating Addiction

With Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside at the heart of Canada’s opioid and addiction crisis, the neighbourhood has long been an epicentre of innovative, community-based treatment ...
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. ...
Pictured are numerous drug users on the sidewalks of East Hastings Street Vancouver, British Columbia
Addiction

Canada’s Fight Against Opioid Overdose Sees Hope in 2024 Decline

Despite a slight decline in unregulated drug deaths in 2024, the opioid crisis continues to take a devastating toll on communities across British Columbia ...
Pictured is pulse oximetry device measuring pulse and other vital metrics
Addiction

Pulse Oximetry as a Potential Tool to Reduce Overdose Deaths in British Columbia

Continuous pulse oximetry, a technology traditionally used in acute care settings, is showing potential as an innovative method to decrease overdose fatalities amid British ...
A young person captured sitting next to bed, contemplating to use drugs
Addiction

Is Involuntary Treatment for Youth a Lifesaving Necessity or an Ethical Dilemma?

As overdose deaths among Canadian youth soar to alarming levels, especially in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, the debate intensifies: Should involuntary treatment be considered to ...
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 ...
Moms Stop the Harm organization seen protesting current drug policies in British Columbia
Addiction

British Columbia’s Promise of Safer Supply

For almost a decade, British Columbia has been in the grip of a devastating overdose epidemic, exacerbated by an increasingly toxic unregulated drug supply. ...
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 ...
Captured content of Naloxone kit to be carried by all officers of the Vancouver Policy Department
Addiction

VPD Officers to Carry Naloxone Amid Overdose Complaints: A Response to Vancouver’s Opioid Crisis

As Vancouver continues to grapple with the devastating effects of the opioid epidemic, a recent policy change is aiming to equip Vancouver Police Department ...
Mother, Nicola DeSousa, holding a photo of her son who died of an overdose that could have been prevented through Involuntary Care Program.
Addiction

BC Premier’s Promise of Involuntary Care: Too Little, Too Late for One Grieving Mother

“I begged for him to be involuntarily treated for eight years. Now he’s ashes in a box.” Those are the heart-wrenching words of Surrey ...