To be clear, the study Doug Ford cited today to justify his (ill-advised) decision to close supervised consumption sites in Ontario is not from the University of Alberta. It's from an Alberta government crown corporation.

"Inaccurate data": How Recovery Alberta officials facilitated consumption site closures (Pt 2) Selective data sharing by some of Alberta's top health officials may backstop plausible deniability for government negligence in closing sites – with impacts all the way to Ontario.

Probably the best work I’ve done to get inside how the ‘Alberta Recovery Model’ grows through disinformation. Hope it’s valuable to people.

Part 2, just published: drugdatadecoded.ca/inaccurate-d...

Medetomidine has also been detected in drug samples in Alberta. #ableg #yeg #yyc

📣 Media looking for an important story related to prisoner abuse, pharma lobbying, public sector profiteering & expert advocacy –– this letter has it all and more.

I included the full letter along with the government's new Sublocade policy + BCCSU's 2023 guidance for comparison. Please run with it!

Involuntary treatment for substance use: application of Kass’ ethical framework to Alberta’s Compassionate Intervention Act Key points In Canada, more than 50 000 opioid-related deaths have occurred since September 2024, mostly in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario, where governments are all in various stages of develo...

"Alberta’s Compassionate Intervention Act — which will allow for the involuntary admission of people who use substances, even when they have[..]capacity to make decisions about their care — lacks sufficient evidence of effectiveness + poses substantial ethical concerns"

www.cmaj.ca/content/197/...

Opinion: Edmonton doesn't have to be the frostbite capital of the world Severe frostbite injuries are entirely preventable - together, let’s work towards a city where no one gets left out in the cold.

Edmonton has had a disturbingly high number of frostbite amputations the last two winters. With freezing temps on the way, both the City and the Government of Alberta must do more to prevent people from freezing in the cold. edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu... #ableg #yegcc

🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩

BREAKING WIN for PWUD: Supreme Court of Canada rules against the Saskatchewan government and police attempt to claw back the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act in R v Wilson. Pivot argued, and the court agreed, the law protects against simple possession convictions, charges, AND arrests at ODs.

In 2022, a group of organizations penned an open letter demanding transparency on substance use programs in Alberta. The government said it was funding My Recovery Plan to accomplish this.

Now, they’re quietly ending that program after apparently figuring out it’s not evidence-based.

Opinion: Closing Alberta harm-reduction hubs is going backwards By shuttering low barrier and harm reduction services, we are going backwards, not forwards.

Disappointed to hear the Alberta government cut funding to Turning Point in Red Deer, the city’s longstanding harm reduction agency. This leaves a big gap in support for people who use drugs and/or are unstably housed in Red Deer. edmontonjournal.com/opinion/colu...

Even if a patient has capacity, the Act outlines how they will be forced to take medications. Right to refuse treatment: Patients will be asked if they consent to treatment. The legislation specifies certain treatment a patient cannot refuse. A patient cannot refuse to: Be observed, monitored, and assessed by the treatment team. Receive clinical advice. Take medications to treat their substance use or addiction that are authorized by the commission and prescribed and administered by the health professional who is treating them.

This is a laughable consent process. Patients, including those with full capacity, will be asked if they consent, but then they can't refuse??? Just one of many concerns about Bill 53. Educate yourself. Educate others. Advocate for better.

We call on healthcare professionals to take the "Not A Narc" pledge! -Speak up against coercive care models -Advocate for investment in voluntary, accessible, community-centered services -Ensure patient voices and lived experience guide substance use policy

Hi folx - we have been distributing Not A Narc buttons and stickers, and we'd love to see them in the field! Reply or DM us to share a photo of your support for non-coercive care for People Who Use Drugs :)

No one in their right mind would expect a protest of five people to change the course of history, but credible reports suggest Minister Dan Williams has shaved off his moustache.

Compassionate Intervention Act - Our reaction | AMA The government has introduced Bill 53 Compassionate Intervention Act for mandatory addiction treatment.

Powerful statement from @albertadoctors.bsky.social on proposed forced abstinence legislation (“Compassionate Intervention Act”).
www.albertadoctors.org/news/publica...

Crackdown by Garth Mullins | Penguin Random House Canada *NATIONAL BESTSELLER*Part memoir, part manifesto, Crackdown is a story of the drug war, told from the frontlines.

I'm thrilled so many profs use @crackdownpod.bsky.social episodes in their curriculum. Might I suggest including my book by the same name? Learning outcomes include: harm reduction, decrim, methadone, safe supply, HIV, PTSD, sex work, advocacy, research, etc www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/700597...

🧵Remember when Alberta government claimed just 73 drug poisoning deaths occurred in May '24, and once again trotted out their "cautious optimism" that the Alberta model was working?

Well, that count is now 98 deaths – a 34% increase and the largest I've ever seen from initial release to update. 1/

Hello, This email is to inform you all that Red Deer has seen a rapid increase in suspected Opioid Poisonings. During the 15 hour time period of April 24th 1900 to April 25th 1000, 12 opioid overdoses were responded to by a combination of InReach Recovery Alberta staff and local shelter staff. These overdoses seem to be related to a red/pink powder substance being sold as fentanyl.

Injunction to halt the UCP's closure of the Red Deer overdose prevention site has been denied, the same day a warning went out about 12 ODs in 15 hours near the former site.

As @ehyshka.bsky.social has said, an OPS is like the emergency room of the toxic drug crisis, and now it's just ~gone~

Take a sec to consider the situations these 32,000 people were in when they got turned away from domestic violence shelters.

What’s their next move?

RECOVERY ALBERTA Minutes of the meeting of the Recovery Alberta board (“Board”) held by electronic transmission on August 28, 2024. Attendees: Kerry Bales, Board member and chair Tracey Bailey, KC, corporate secretary and legal counsel 1. CALL TO ORDER Kerry Bales, called the Board meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. 2. INTRODUCTIONS Kerry Bales introduced himself as sole Board member and chair of the Board of Recovery Alberta.

Anyone else think it’s weird that, like Alberta Health Services, Recovery Alberta has only one board member?
And like AHS, also a lot of very questionable contracts?
@thebreakdownab.bsky.social

"Coercion at its finest": Ministry mandating My Recovery Plan participation for recovery service access The app owned by Last Door Recovery Society was legally obligated to be voluntary for recovery program clients. But in a bait-and-switch, the Alberta government is now telling service providers to ens...

Forced data collection by Recovery Alberta will potentially be used in the implementation of forced treatment.

Drug user rights are willfully eroded while the recovery industry scores sole source contracts.

Must read by @drugdatadecoded.ca 👇

drugdatadecoded.ca/coercion-at-...

Patients will need extensive support after involuntary addiction treatment: Alberta agency | CBC News An Alberta Crown corporation that studies addiction recommends that any involuntary treatment be done for longer time periods because shorter stays seem ineffective.

We need to stop tap-dancing around this:

Alberta is rebuilding residential schools through its recovery model.

Its leaders now insist the model must include long-term forced abstinence despite (or because of?) how it places many people at higher risk of overdose. 1/
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Edmonton setting opioid poisoning records while Province quietly hides medical examiner review Edmonton EMS dispatches for opioid poisoning have hit their highest weekly count ever. While other provincial governments issue warnings, Alberta has been hiding a key mortality report that could have...

SCOOP: Edmonton EMS dispatches for opioid poisoning just hit their highest-ever weekly count.

While other provincial governments issue warnings, the Alberta government has instead been hiding a key mortality report since 2021 that should have informed solutions.
drugdatadecoded.ca/edmonton-set...

University of Calgary destroyed records related to May 9 police violence against protesters In a rare instance, University of Calgary officials were caught destroying records that should have been made available through freedom of information. The destroyed records — obtained from Calgary Po...

🧵 UCalgary campus security executives have been deleting records that implicate them in decision making around the violent police assault on May 9 protesters. 1/
drugdatadecoded.ca/university-o...

*UPDATED with response from Calgary Police Chief Mark Neufeld*

Remarkable - he doesn't deny that the ASIRT review was set up to fail.

Forced treatment shatters trust and relationships. Thankfully Brandon rebuilt the bond with his amazing mom Angie, founder of
@4bharmredux.bsky.social. She helped him to get well after 10 years of struggle and houselessness post forced care.
#CareIsNotForced

The Flawed Logic of Million-Dollar Fines in Drug Trafficking: A Perspective from Lived Experience — Moms Stop The Harm The Flawed Logic of Million-Dollar Fines in Drug Trafficking: A Perspective from Lived Experience Watching the Saskatchewan government announce million-dollar fines for drug trafficking stirred somet...

"Drug trafficking isn’t just a crime—it’s a symptom of deeper issues that no amount of fines or harsher laws will ever fix. You can’t legislate fear into people and expect them to recover. It doesn’t work. It never has. It never will."
#SKpoli
www.momsstoptheharm.com/blog/2025/3/...

Powerful and unequivocal statement from Canadian Public Health Association on Alberta's proposed involuntary treatment / forced abstinence legislation.
www.cpha.ca/alberta-invo...

Former B.C. recovery home employee convicted of sexually assaulting vulnerable women | CBC News Adam Haber, a former fitness trainer at Last Door Recovery Society in New Westminster, was found guilty on Wednesday of two counts of sexual assault involving vulnerable women.

"Police said Haber met the women through his involvement as a client, sponsor and later contract employee at Last Door starting in 2010."

Last Door mgmt then allegedly tried to cover up allegations.

Evidence shows Last Door will soon open Calgary Recovery Community. 1/
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Latest from the best in the business @manishakrishnan.bsky.social