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 ...

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

Policy

How Justin Trudeau Shaped Canada’s Drug Policy

Justin Trudeau’s tenure as Canada’s Prime Minister is often defined by progressive policies, including a bold approach to drug regulation. From the landmark legalization ...

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 ...

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 ...

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. ...

Healthcare

The Peculiar Tale of 28,000 Missing Naloxone Doses in Vancouver

A public notification from the College of Pharmacists of BC has ignited heated discussions across Vancouver. At the center of the uproar is a ...

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 ...

Order

Withdrawal of Police Support Raises Questions About BC’s Decriminalization

Police associations are stepping back from supporting BC’s decriminalization pilot, citing public safety concerns and increasing disorder in communities. The withdrawal of backing from ...

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 ...

Policy

Canada’s Top Court Clears Path for Opioid Class Action Against Big Pharma

In a historic ruling, Canada’s Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of British Columbia’s Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act. This decision ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Policy

The Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act and Drug Law Enforcement

Canada’s opioid crisis has rapidly escalated into one of the country’s most urgent public health emergencies. Since 2016, over 44,000 Canadians have died from ...

Healthcare

Frontline Challenges of the Canadian Overdose Crisis

Emergency Departments (EDs) are overwhelmed epicentres in the opioid crisis, serving as the immediate refuge for many individuals who use unregulated substances. Nurses, physicians, ...

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Healthcare

BC’s Ongoing Struggle and Efforts to Combat the Toxic Drug Crisis

British Columbia continues to enhance its response to the toxic drug crisis, with Budget 2024 building on a historic $1 billion investment in mental ...

Policy

Involuntary Care Sparks Controversy in Pre-Election Push

British Columbia is grappling with a toxic drug crisis that has claimed over 15,000 lives since 2016, sparking fierce political debate as the province ...

Policy

The Battle Over Supervised Drug Consumption Sites

British Columbia’s overdose crisis continues to dominate political discourse, and the BC Conservative Party finds itself at the centre of a controversy over its ...

Voices

Josh Dehaas: Japan Shows Canadians Don’t Need to Accept Urban Disorder

In a thought-provoking opinion piece, journalist Josh Dehaas argues that Canada’s current approach to drug addiction and urban disorder has failed, pointing to Japan ...

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 ...