This should be a ballot box issue
The human toll of the the toxic drug crisis shouldn't be an afterthought
What is “harm reduction,” really?
You’ve probably heard the term. Maybe you have a vague idea that harm reduction consists of safe injection sites and safer supply programs. But you don’t really know what they are or why they’re important.
Or maybe you think of safe consumption sites as “drug dens” and safer supply programs as “feeding drugs to addicts,” since that is how some politicians describe harm reduction strategies.
But strip away the politics and panic, and harm reduction is something far more radical—and more also ordinary. It’s a public health approach rooted in health care, not moral judgment. Compassion, not control. It doesn’t ask people to stop using drugs. It asks: how do we help them stay alive?
Examples of harm reduction strategies include:
Providing naloxone kits to reverse opioid overdoses
Operating safe consumption sites
Offering a safer supply of pharmaceutical alternatives to street drugs
Needle exchange programs to prevent HIV and Hep C
Drug checking services so people can test for contaminants like fentanyl or xylazine
Outreach programs that bring healthcare to people who use drugs
Education on how to use more safely (not using alone, knowing dose thresholds)
Non-judgmental support services that help people reduce use or move toward treatment if and when they’re ready
But harm reduction is more than a set of services. It’s a way of seeing the world, and of seeing people who use drugs.
It starts with the reality that drug use exists, and asks: How do we keep people alive and safe, and how can we treat people with dignity while they figure out what comes next?
Harm reduction doesn’t punish. It doesn’t reject, and it doesn’t require perfection. And it doesn’t define recovery as abstinence alone. Harm reduction recognizes that people don’t always stop using drugs just because we want them to. So instead of trying to scare or shame them into quitting, it offers tools to stay safer today. That makes tomorrow possible.
And yet, in 2025, this approach is under threat in Canada. We’re watching a political wave that wants to reframe addiction as a crime problem again. There’s growing momentum to shut down supervised consumption sites, cut off safer supply, and double down on enforcement. We’ve seen this playbook before. And it didn’t work.
Not only that, in some provinces, we’re seeing a move away from harm reduction toward treatment for addiction. But it’s not just addicts who are dying of toxic drugs. While we may conflate the problems of addiction and toxic drugs together in our in our minds, the truth is that people who aren’t addicted can also die of toxic drugs — it can happen by accident when a person uses a contaminated drug, unaware that the pill or powder they’re using is not what they think it is. Offering addiction treatment isn’t going to help occasional drug users avoid addiction to unknown contaminants, nor will it reduce their risk of death.
I decided to go deep with this topic. I spent two weeks reading policy documents, overdose stats, expert interviews, and platform statements. What I found was alarming, and urgent—but also clarifying.
My research made it clear how misunderstood harm reduction is, how politicians use it as a wedge issue, and how they often misrepresent the whole idea of harm reduction in order to make it more emotional for people who don’t really understand it.
If you’ve ever wondered:
What is really going on with fentanyl in Canada?
Why are overdose deaths are rising in some regions, and falling in others?
What could we be doing if we really decided to lead on this issue?
What are our federal parties are promising?
Start here:
👉 Part One: What’s really happening with fentanyl in Canada?
👉 Part Two: The path forward with the drug crisis in Canada
Even if you’re not in Canada, learning about what’s happening here can help you see what’s happening in your own country. This is a global health battle. Some governments are treating it that way, while others are pretending that putting drug dealers in jail will solve the problem.
A note before you read: these pieces include references to toxic drug deaths. If you’ve lost someone, or if you’ve almost lost someone, take a deep breath. Come back later if you need to. Or don’t. No pressure.
If you find the work useful, share it. If it stirs disagreement, tell me why.
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