In a column that illuminates the disconnect between what BC media are reporting and what’s actually happening on the ground, columnist Rob Shaw compares policies developed in response to the province’s NUMBER 1 CAUSE OF DEATH to that time the provincial government decided not…

Why does anyone quit drinking alcohol? Why does anyone quit smoking tobacco? People reach out for help for those substances all the time. The difference is, they aren't going to die from consuming a single glass of alcohol or smoking one cigarette because of a toxic supply run by…

Sarge was a nurse in the DTES who saved my life more than once. ♥️ He was also one of the architects of onsite detox (upstairs from Insite) and CTCT (acute care in the community) — both facilities I accessed numerous times. Sarge always encouraged me to keep trying and advocated…

Criminalizing drug use isn't about rehabilitation it's about incarceration!

Using catch phrase slogans to simplify substance use disorders isn't helpful.
How are you bringing our loved ones home drug free?
How many people stay sober after completing treatment?
Without having…

Doing some big things....the eagle 🦅 has landed in Trail BC! The toxic drug crisis exists in every community and every workplace. #toxicdrugsupply #harmreduction #recovery

People often tell me I should write a memoir. Maybe one day … but that’s a daunting endeavor!

I do have a cool piece of (somewhat related) news.
We are doing a short documentary about how I broke free from gangs, addiction, homelessness and depression. It will be told through…

Harm reduction doesn't eliminate harm, it reduces harm. Just like seatbelts and bike helmets won't stop accidents from happening, it reduces the risk of fatalities in those circumstances. #harmreduction

There are so many recovery paths that people can find, and no one should be saying which one is right and which one is wrong.
That path includes people on methadone and suboxone, but also anyone on any opioid medications including hydromorphone, morphine, heroin, fent patches…

Lots of people asking how I feel about today’s announcement on decriminalization.

FIRST, to clarify, decrim has not been ended or cancelled. It’s not a crime to possess small amounts of illicit drugs and that’s not changing.

But yes, I’m disappointed in the new rules limiting…

It took me 31 years to stop using drugs. It wasn’t easy. I relapsed many, many times. Thank God (and health-care in BC) for harm reduction keeping me alive until I made it stick.

But as hard as that was, it turned out that quitting drugs was still easier than learning to accept…

Hey London, Ontario ( #LdnOnt ) - and residents of cities & towns across Canada 🇨🇦 - always remember to vote for people who share your values!

It’s hard to read the relentless & dehumanizing tweets of London city councillor Susan Stevenson (Susan Stevenson) about people living in…

If people were really concerned about fueling organized crime, they would look at the policies that create the conditions for organized crime to profit

Safer supply seizures make up a tiny fraction of the total drug seizures. The bulk is fentanyl, cocaine, meth, and counterfeit…

Another deadly drug alert in BC, and though it SHOULD BE obvious: it’s an unregulated drug that’s poisoned, not a prescription. #toxicdrugcrisis

A bit of clarity about the term “moral entrepreneur,” which I learned about this week from a new paper in a scientific journal that maps the moral panic about prescribed safer supply in BC.

(If you haven’t read it, you should!)

Moral entrepreneurs are “key players in the…

Hey look! 👀

Sometimes I DO agree with the moral entrepreneurs!

For example, I think their post about Dr. Martyn Judson is a good one!

Highlighted here on X by conservative anti-harm reduction group “Centre for Responsible Drug Policy” (created and led by opinion writer…

Hahaha! 😂

You’re joking right Collen? You understand that he’s NOT saying doctors have to physically block dealers from speaking to their patients!

He’s speaking metaphorically - a goal of decrim is to interrupt the cycle of addiction & give people better opportunities to…

✨⭐️✨WOW!! ✨⭐️✨

For months I’ve been on here, trying to explain my frustration at the way certain Canadian politicians and media have been manufacturing panic over prescribed safer supply (a small program that provides Rx alternatives to people with diagnosed opioid use…

Men don't like to talk about stuff and for a long time I used to believe that, and it nearly ended my life. I just finished going to trauma therapy and I feel so much better talking about my feelings in order to be the best version of myself. #traumatherapy

Although it’s too early to say anything with confidence, drug poisoning deaths in BC seem to be going DOWN. 🧵

The number of deaths in December, January and February in this province were all lower than the same months in each of the two years prior.

And since November, the…

I still have hope!