Episode 57: We Ain’t Dead Yet

Description Garth and Sam discuss Elanore Sturko, Vaughn Palmer and Tristin Hopper’s responses to Canada’s declining overdose deaths in 2025. Was it the NDP’s abandonment of decriminalization and “prescribed alternatives” that caused fewer Canadians to die?  No, it wasn’t. Table of Contents [04:21] SEGMENT 1: Show updates – we ain’t dead yet! [08:01] SEGMENT 2: Canada’s ultraconservatives want credit for the declining overdoses. Do they deserve any?  [23:26] SEGMENT 3: Community Profile – Tyson Singh Kelsall and Police Oversight with Evidence and Research (POWER).  [25:34] SEGMENT 4: Evaluating the federal Liberal Party. Is there anything they can do to stop the attacks on overdose prevention across the country?  [36:05] SEGMENT 5: How much credit does the drug user movement deserve for the declining overdose numbers?  [41:58] SEGMENT 6: Bubble pipes and other kinds of glassware are becoming scarce in BC. We discuss an open letter written by drug users.  Notes You can support our friends at Power here: https://www.policeoversight.ca/ Graph – “Necropolitics” in fatal overdose projections (link): Graph – Declining fentanyl purity since 2023 (link): Graph – Reddit posts discussing fentanyl droughts (link): A link to VANDU’s open letter on glassware shortages in BC will be uploaded to our website when it’s available: https://www.crackdownpod.com/  Works Cited Reports BC Centre for Disease Control. “Population Estimates of Opioid-Related Harms in BC.” 2026. The Public Health Agency of Canada. Modelling Apparent Opioid Toxicity Deaths during the Overdose Crisis. Government of Canada. 2025. The Government of Canada. “Opioid- and Stimulant-Related Harms in Canada: Key Findings.” 2026. Press Conferences Cable Public Affairs Channel. “Federal Officials Hold a News Conference on Illegal Drug Crisis.” Press Conference, 2026. Gebien, Darryl. Zöe Dodd Brave Words to Politicians at Health Canada’s Opioid Symposium 2018 in Toronto. YouTube. 2018. Books Lupick, Travis. Fighting for Space: How a Group of Drug Users Transformed One City’s Struggle with Addiction. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2017. AudioBooks Mbembe, Achille. Necropolitics. Translated by Steven Corcoran. Narrated by Sean Crisden. Tantor Media, 2021. Audiobook, 8 hr., 31 min.  Journal Articles Fischer, Benedikt, and Wayne Hall. “Recent Decreases in Drug Overdose Deaths: Assessing Evidence for Supply-Related Drivers and Implications for Health-Oriented Drug Poli