The latest news articles featuring BC Centre on Substance Use.
Trade workers among those most susceptible to toxic drug deaths: B.C. Coroners Service
August 02, 2025 | CBC British Columbia
The B.C. Coroners Service has released data on the toxic drug crisis showing the occupations of those who died over a three-year span in the province. As Michelle Morton reports, trade workers are seeing the largest numbers of drug fatalities. [Video]...
Crackdown: A revolutionary testament from the frontlines of the drug war
July 29, 2025 | Spring Magazine
In a political moment when right-wing forces mobilize to dismantle even the most modest harm reduction measures, Garth Mullins’ memoir-manifesto arrives as an essential weapon of resistance, exposing the brutal violence of prohibition while charting a path toward collective liberation through user...
‘Public is not picking this up’: Study warns of rise in stimulant-related deaths
July 16, 2025 | CTV News
A growing number of overdose deaths in North America involve a dangerous combination of opioids and stimulants, a trend that researchers in a new study are calling a “silent epidemic.” Led by the University of Alberta, the study warns that while public attention remains focused on opioids like...
Health minister says forced addictions treatment lacks evidence, feds won’t intervene
June 03, 2025 | Vancouver Is Awesome
OTTAWA — Federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel says there’s no evidence that forcing people into addictions treatment works — but she won’t weigh in on whether provinces should pursue involuntary treatment. “I will tell you that I think every single Canadian has the right to ...
The Fight Over Forced Rehab
May 26, 2025 | Maclean's Magazine
As a teenager in Los Angeles, Marshall Smith earned a reputation as a party boy. He moved to British Columbia after high school and continued to drink throughout his twenties while working in the provincial corrections system, first as a guard and later in administrative roles. In 2001, he took a jo...
