ARTS THE DRUG(S) STORE

Vigilante Justice Amidst Vancouver’s Opioid Epidemic

Avery Nowicki (They/Them) - Writer

Sharleen Romanos - Illustrator

On January 31st, Canada enacted their decriminalization plan with the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSC). This change has allowed individual possession of small personal doses (2.5 grams) of decriminalized opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine, and MDMA. This act will be effective until January 31st of 2026 and has prompted a Vancouver-based activist affected by the Canadian opioid epidemic to take action in an act of vigilante justice.

Jerry Martin, a local activist from Delta, BC, has decided to take matters into his own hands by creating ‘The Drugs Store,’ which will provide clean and tested drugs for the downtown eastside population, through The Safe Supply Project. Jerry’s mission is to help aid the recovery process for his local community. The Drugs Store will allow those in need to gain access to safer resources, which are essential for both individual addiction recovery and the effort to slow the number of daily overdoses and opioid based deaths in British Columbia. The British Columbia Coroners Service detailed 2,272 suspected illicit drug toxicity deaths in 2022. Vancouver provided for the largest number of Illicit drug toxicity based deaths, with 562 people becoming victims to fatal overdoses exclusively in the Vancouver township. The Drugs Store’s mission statement regards the CDSC’s choice to decriminalize as a necessary step forward, however provides criticism against their decision for mass decriminalization when unregulated drugs are often found laced with Fentanyl and similar substances, causing many organizations like PHS.ca to provide resources for safe drug testing of unregulated substances in the Vancouver area. The Drugs Store’s mission statement reads: “Allowing an entire province to consume unregulated drugs known to be tainted & highly deadly will only increase the number of overdoses & deaths.” Jerry ends his statement by highlighting the importance of safe supply in curbing British Columbia’s rising opioid epidemic, making The Drugs Store vital for aiding the deadly opioid crisis affecting hundreds in Vancouver and the greater Vancouver area.

The planning for this project has been in place for months, meaning The Drugs Store is set to be up-and-running in the following days. The process of creating the store has endured set-backs and tribulations which have hindered the initial launch date. Jerry has continued to work tirelessly to follow this vital mission, for the benefit of his community. The Drugs Store’s launch may put the safety and well-being of Jerry and those at his aid at risk. Due to the known violence and blatant mistreatment caused by the Vancouver Police Department against unhoused community members in the downtown eastside, and opioid addicted individuals in Vancouver as a whole, it is not unreasonable to assume that the VPD’s inevitable interaction with The Drugs Store might negatively affect the recent work done by The Safe Supply Project to bring these resources to the public in a time of immediate need.

To support ‘The Drugs Store’, visit and donate to: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/safe-supplyprojects-legal-fees-building-supply

This funding will go to necessary legal fees, building fees, and to affording safe supplies for this project. Your donation will help bring vital resources to our downtown eastside, in an effort to end Canada’s rising opioid epidemic.