Doctors for Safer Drug Policy
@dsdp.ca
A group of Canadian physicians who care for people who use substances and advocate for safer, more compassionate, evidence-based healthcare policies.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
The symbolic power of decriminalization and recriminalization in shaping stigma toward people who use drugs in British Columbia - BMC Public Health
Background In January 2023, British Columbia (BC) implemented a three-year decriminalization pilot to reduce harms of drug criminalization and address stigma toward people who use drugs. In May 2024, ...
link.springer.com
Another day, another top notch publication shut down. It was a privilege to report on BC’s drug crisis at Filter. Thank you to Will and Kastalia for always making room for stories that matter + for treating freelancers with more respect than most. Y’all set the bar and I’m so sad to see this end.
Filter | harm reduction journalism@filtermag.bsky.social · 2w agoWe are very sorry to announce that Filter is shutting down this week, after eight years of publishing. It's a sad moment for those of us who have cared about the publication, writes EIC Will Godfrey. But we have much to be grateful for:
drugdatadecoded.ca/email/9e0308...
How Health Canada buried the safe supply expert reviews amid a manufactured moral panic
After a nearly two-year access to information process, Drug Data Decoded has obtained the correspondence detailing steps taken inside Health Canada to ensure the Expert Advisory Group reports on medic...
drugdatadecoded.ca
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... An exciting, long awaited day. Hey @bcndpcaucus.bsky.social sounds like you have to write a new law. If you would like to consult with a few GENUINE experts on substance use disorders, we know a few. Hell, if you were feeling real bold we know a few patients too.
'Blanket' forced treatment of involuntary psychiatric patients unconstitutional, B.C. court rules | CBC News
Provisions in British Columbia's involuntary care regime that allow forced psychiatric treatment, regardless of a person's capacity to make health care decisions, are unconstitutional, the B.C. Suprem...
cbc.ca
www.youtube.com/live/8fqSWFA... It is shocking that Dr. Daniel Vigo has begun implying that the raft of changes in government policy have anything to do with the decline in overdose deaths. They do not, as some light digging makes clear. #bcpoli #harmreduction (1/8)
Improving care for people with overlapping mental-health and substance-use challenges in BC
YouTube video by GovernmentofBC
youtube.com
This is getting popular!!! See you soon.
Doctors for Safer Drug Policy@dsdp.ca · last mo.We are grateful to co-host this upcoming webinar on Thursday August 13th, 2026, at 12pm PST with @hrna.bsky.social and Caitlin Shane, staff lawyer at @pivotlegalsociety.bsky.social. REGISTER HERE: tinyurl.com/3da7j4p2 #bcpoli #harmreduction
Effective treatment for substance use disorders must be voluntary. "I work with clients who have been on the streets for years and when in those moments of wanting to get help, it's been difficult for them to actually have the wrap-around support that they need." www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
'It's such a complex situation': Locals have their say on new Prince George involuntary care centre | CBC News
As the province prepares to open an involuntary care facility in Prince George, organizers held an open house to hear from social workers, Indigenous peoples, and people who have lived with addictions...
cbc.ca
We are grateful to co-host this upcoming webinar on Thursday August 13th, 2026, at 12pm PST with @hrna.bsky.social and Caitlin Shane, staff lawyer at @pivotlegalsociety.bsky.social. REGISTER HERE: tinyurl.com/3da7j4p2 #bcpoli #harmreduction
On Nov 17, North Cowichan displaced ~75 unhoused residents from Lewis Street encampments to a marsh without the promised Ramada shelter open or toilets available. NEW substack collab by me & @pearlysalts.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/jessicap...
Swept off Lewis Street and Into North Cowichan’s Wetlands
A street sweep on November 17 during a disease outbreak forced unhoused residents into Cowichan’s wetlands. 80 overdoses followed in the next 24 hours.
open.substack.com
"A regulated alternative to the toxic drug supply. Accessible, low-barrier supervised consumption services that respond to people’s needs. Timely, evidence-based, and culturally safe treatment for anyone who seeks it. Safe, affordable, and accessible housing." bcgreens.ca/lower-death-...
BC Greens: Lower death toll should not reduce government action on toxic drug crisis
VICTORIA, B.C. – The BC Green Caucus has issued a statement following the recent BC Coroner’s report on deaths due to overdose: “It’s been over ten years since the toxic drug […]
bcgreens.ca
VPD claimed no emails went "to or from" senior cops about DULF ahead of their Oct 2023 raid But emails sent to 2 officers were included in evidence in the resulting trial How did police justify not revealing those emails? By saying the officers were only CC'd www.defactomedia.ca/vpd-emails-f...
VPD claimed no emails sent to or from senior cops about compassion club ahead of raid. That’s untrue
Freedom-of-information advocates say force's non-response likely broke BC’s transparency law — and ask if Vancouver police should undergo ‘greater scrutiny’ for public transparency
defactomedia.ca
EVENT: "Canadian Healthcare: When Provinces Go Rogue" Join us next Wednesday at 12:00 pm Pacific / 3:00 pm Eastern for a panel discussion focused on what happens when provinces go rogue with their healthcare policies? Should the federal government step in? Register: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
tinyurl.com/yhr9hf2h The @bcfamilydocs.bsky.social rightfully calls out the political interference in our important area of practice. @davidebybc.bsky.social and the @bcndpcaucus.bsky.social have forced us to choose between doing what is clinically indicated for our patients and their moralizing.
Protecting Patient Care from Political Interference - BC Family Doctors
BC Family Doctors believes that health policy must be shaped by clinical evidence, informed by physician expertise and responsive to community needs. We recognize that while the government plays a rol...
tinyurl.com
as DULF dominated the news cycle, and as they planned their high profile raid, the VPD claimed in FOI responses that no emails about DULF were sent to or from several senior officers for two of those officers, that wasn't true @defactomedia.ca www.defactomedia.ca/vpd-emails-f...
VPD claimed no emails sent to or from senior cops about compassion club ahead of raid. That’s untrue
Freedom-of-information advocates say force's non-response likely broke BC’s transparency law — and ask if Vancouver police should undergo ‘greater scrutiny’ for public transparency
defactomedia.ca
what if we just made sure people had access to housing and healthcare and then we can have a talk about involuntary whatever. Let's see where we're at after actually fulfilling our obligations before making everything carceral to satsify some moralist impulse.
Here are 10 stories from last week about policing, freedom of info, overdose prevention, & legal systems. Check them out in the thread below, or all together here in our latest Post Facto newsletter: www.defactomedia.ca/newsletter/p...
POST FACTO: Hospital OD secrecy, a 'rubber stamp' police board, consumption site survives vote
13,000 paid hours for suspended cops. Police corruption tied to Olympic drug case. Class action over separatist data leak
defactomedia.ca
Studies on the effectiveness of "supply-side" drug policy: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC... dev.opioidactioncenter.com/resource/iu-... reuter.it-prod-webhosting.aws.umd.edu/sites/defaul... Folks reading this probably know the facts, just a reminder that Trump policy is vibes. Cruel vibes.
Impact of supply-side policies for control of illicit drugs in the face of the AIDS and overdose epidemics: investigation of a massive heroin seizure
More than 93% of the nearly $500 million spent annually on Canada's drug strategy goes toward efforts to reduce the illicit drug supply. However, little is known about the effectiveness of this strategy. On Sept. 2, 2000, Canadian police seized ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Happy to share our new review paper on management of injection drug use-associated endocarditis, including recommendations from a multidisciplinary group in Canada Incl. integrating substance use care in hospital and not requiring abstinence as a condition for surgery onlinecjc.ca/article/S082...
Management of Infective Endocarditis Secondary to Injection Drug Use: Practical Recommendations for Clinicians From a Canadian Working Group
The management of drug-use associated endocarditis (DUA-IE) has historically been piece-meal with variable involvement of multiple specialties – cardiology, addictions medicine, infectious disease, su...
onlinecjc.ca
www.pivotlegal.org/a_guide_for_...
Responding to Police in Health Service Settings: Know Your Rights, Protect Your Clients
Responding to Police in Health Service Settings: Know Your Rights, Protect Your Clients is a practical resource for health service providers in British Columbia seeking to reduce police interference i...
pivotlegal.org
rabble.ca/health/in-pr... "CSC’s own data points to a troubling trend. In January 2025, 3,447 people were enrolled in OAT across federal prisons. By March 2026, that number had declined to 2,565 — a drop of nearly 900. This drop began in the months following the October 2025 policy shift."
In prison, toxic drug deaths are rising. Access to treatment is shrinking
Recent policy changes mean that treatment for addiction is becoming less accessible to those who are incarcerated.
rabble.ca
www.oireachtas.ie/en/press-cen... All party committee from both houses of Ireland’s parliament had recommended what the BC Government couldn’t find the courage to do: commit to full decriminalization of personal possession of substances and take a public health approach to addiction.
Joint Committee on Drugs Use publishes Final Report – TDs and Senators recommend decriminalisation of possession of drugs for personal use
oireachtas.ie
ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10....
Spatiotemporal Analysis Exploring the Effect of Law Enforcement Drug Market Disruptions on Overdose, Indianapolis, Indiana, 2020–2021 | AJPH | Vol. 113 Issue 7
Objectives. To test the hypothesis that law enforcement efforts to disrupt local drug markets by seizing opioids or stimulants are associated with increased spatiotemporal clustering of overdose event...
ajph.aphapublications.org
thetyee.ca/News/2026/07... “The response from our health authorities to this drug crisis — that has been the biggest public health crisis that has faced Canadians and British Columbians in our history — has been anemic at best and potentially furthering harms at worst." - Dr. Jess Wilder
How Many People Are ODing in BC Hospitals? It’s Still a Mystery | The Tyee
The Tyee just lost our last FOI appeal. Here’s what we can tell you.
thetyee.ca
