That lots of people are reacting to an editorial in a highly circulated newspaper isn't evidence of a coordinated messaging campaign There could be, but it's also completely natural/expected for many people to react to a prominent entity saying something perceived as surprising

"... hydromorphone—the opioid that makes up the vast majority of safe supply prescriptions—accounted for just 0.3 percent of drugs seized by the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) by weight in 2023." filtermag.org/bc-knew-safe-s…

.NORML's Paul Armentano argues in a new op-ed that The New York Times editorial board made several errors in a piece expressing concerns about cannabis legalization—but was correct to say the U.S. shouldn't return to "heavy-handed criminal prohibition." marijuanamoment.net/what-the-new-y…

"At some point, a great nation must follow the evidence—even when the evidence leads somewhere politically inconvenient. Every administration for 50 years has exposed its citizens to more violence, more incarceration and more death rather than confront the basic economics of drug

"What I have learned is that involuntary treatment for adults with substance use disorders is necessary in extreme cases, but it does not outperform voluntary care and raises serious concerns about patient safety." theconversation.com/what-decades-o…

"Ward is critical of the provincial government for framing the crisis as an “addiction” problem. If the problem is framed this way, then it can be “solved” by offering treatment, she said. But it’s not that simple, Ward said." thetyee.ca/News/2026/03/0…

"The article keeps pointing to real things, then attaching them to the wrong villain."

"Adults in the cannabis use disorder group had a 19% lower risk (0.34% vs. 0.42%) of subsequent schizophrenia compared to the group with other substance use disorders. Risks of subsequent psychosis, recurrent major depression, and suicide attempts were also lower ..."

"At the height of the fentanyl overdose crisis, drug users in Vancouver started taking it upon themselves to try to save lives. Colin Askey’s intimate documentary follows volunteers at the city’s Overdose Prevention Society ..."

"Cannabis is hard to administer ‘blind’, it has a distinct effect, smell and taste. It is made up not of one active compound, but hundreds. Each human responds uniquely to cannabis. Simply put, RCTs don’t suit cannabis, so fewer exist."

"Basing decisions about the future of OPS on a single, inconclusive study puts lives at risk. Albertans deserve evidence-based substance-use services and systems grounded in data transparency and robust analysis, not sensational headlines or predetermined policy agendas."

The war on drugs is not going well. This is great journalism. nytimes.com/2026/03/21/wor… via The New York Times

"B.C.'s toxic drug crisis has killed 18,000 people in the last 10 years. CBC’s Michelle Elliot spoke with retired physician, author and addictions specialist Dr. Gabor Mate about what's worked, what hasn't and what can finally end this crisis." youtu.be/9T2NGAC5cJs?si…

"The emergence of dangerous synthetic drugs like fentanyl has nothing to do with progressivism or harm reduction." nytimes.com/2026/04/18/opi…

Remember when Charles Fain Lehman and Kevin Sabet went to The Washington Post to tell millions of people supervised consumption sites don’t work? Awkward… Because the researchers they cited just called them out. Imagine being corrected by your own sources. Supervised consumption

"A recent Washington Post column by Charles Fain Lehman and Kevin Sabet claims that current data prove safe drug sites do not save lives. But that is not what the data say." acsh.org/news/2026/04/2…

NEW: Trump's claims that bombing civilian boats is curtailing the drug trade show a "fundamental misunderstanding" of the issue. “We don’t use missiles to address a public health problem,” IPS scholar Sanho Tree tells Nick Turse in The Intercept: theintercept.com/2026/05/04/tru…

Please enjoy my cartoon for Thursday's Toronto Star

Supervised Consumption Sites: Evidence versus Assumptions Joint Statement by the Honourable Vernon White and Dr. Alexander Caudarella on the public safety and public health perspectives ccsa.ca/en/supervised-…

Why are drug deaths rising in Edmonton, but falling elsewhere? theglobeandmail.com/podcasts/the-d…