Episode 42: Kids on the Block Part 1 - Bones
[Alt text: Colour photo of three pre-teen girls blowing bubbles outside on a sunny day. On the right corner there is text that reads, “Keeping child-focused spaces safe.” The top of the image has the word “Crackdown” written in large, black letters. The original image was designed to promote the BC NDP’s Bill 34 — new legislation banning drug use in most public spaces.]
Across the country, politicians and the media are fearmongering about children’s safety. They’re using a faux concern about families to attack harm reduction and the drug user movement. And their rhetoric is rolling back life-saving, public health responses to the overdose crisis. But now young people are pushing back. They’re saying they don’t want to see harm reduction attacked in their name.
Kids on the Block Part 1 tells the story of Bones, a teenager from a small town in Western Canada as he struggles to survive the overdose crisis and keep his friends safe.
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A note about the title of this series: “Kids on the Block” is a phrase drug users on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside yell when a family with children walks by. It’s a warning to other drug users to be mindful of their language and to put their gear away.
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In this episode, Bones discusses heavy use of MDMA and the potential impact this may cause to the human serotonin system. Gill Bedi, the Head of Substance Use Research at Orygen, cautions that researchers have not reached a consensus on the relationship between MDMA use and serotonin and that “single, low doeses of MDMA are unlikely to be doing much to the serotonin system in humans.” However, Bedi adds that “it is probably not a good idea for your serotonin system (or your general health) to be using this drug regularly, stacking, or repeating doses over say a day or a few days.” Bedi recommends starting low and going slow, particularly when you cannot be sure what is in your drugs.
Transcript
A complete transcript of this episode will be uploaded here when ready.
Calls to Action
A Vancouver-based Youth Advisory Council made up of 10 young people who use drugs has published the following calls to action for Canadian policy makers:
(1) We want accurate information about the risks and benefits of different drugs and how to practice different kinds of harm reduction in our schools and communities.
(2) Those providing harm reduction to YPWUD should always collaborate closely with them to determine what (if anything) regarding their drug use and harm reduction practices can be shared.
(3) Ideally, youth-oriented safer consumption sites should have a non-clinical, relaxed feel to them, and include a welcoming drop-in space alongside private spaces for safer consumption. They should be staffed by a mix of peers and providers with experience providing non-judgemental care, support, and camaraderie to YPWUD.
(4) Youth-oriented safer consumption, drug-checking, shelter, and housing programs and spaces should have dedicated programming and hours for young women, gender diverse and queer youth, and BIPOC youth. Mobile outreach vans and safer consumption rooms are critical to making harm reduction and other forms of support more accessible to YPWUD in the context of the street involvement, and in particular those who are not residing in city centres.
(5) We demand an end to compulsory or involuntary abstinence-based treatment programs. We want to be listened to regarding what drugs do for us, socially, physically, mentally, and emotionally, in our daily lives. Youth-dedicated drop-in centers and service hubs should center relationship- and trust-building and harm reduction.
(6) YPWUD who are in government care (i.e. living in foster care and group homes and independent living arrangements) must be able to access harm reduction services without fear of discipline and repercussions.
(7) We demand that YPWUD be at the table in a meaningful way (and not just as token participants in the process) as plans for decriminalization and safe supply are rolled out in British Columbia and elsewhere.
(8) Harm reduction organizing and programming must be informed by an intersectional lens. It is critical to recognize and respond to how the risks and harms experienced by YPWUD are shaped by intersections of class, race, gender, sexuality, and ability. It is also important to recognize the intersections between drug user activism, anti-poverty activism, housing activism, and sexual health activism.
(9) The goal is to grow a diverse and strong collective of YPWUD locally, nationally, and internationally.
For more details on these calls to action, see: Canêdo et al. (2022). Harm reduction calls to action from young people who use drugs on the streets of Vancouver and Lisbon. Harm Reduction Journal 19:43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-022-00607-7
Works Cited
BC Centre for Disease Control, “Opioid Use Disorder among Youth in BC.” June 6, 2023. http://www.bccdc.ca/resource-gallery/Documents/Statistics%20and%20Research/Statistics%20and%20Reports/Overdose/2023.06.06_OUD_youth_infographic.pdf
Canêdo et al. (2022). Harm reduction calls to action from young people who use drugs on the streets of Vancouver and Lisbon. Harm Reduction Journal 19:43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-022-00607-7
Coroners Service, “Youth Unregulated Drug Toxicity Deaths in British Columbia: January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2022,” https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/birth-adoption-death-marriage-and-divorce/deaths/coroners-service/statistical/youth_drug_toxicity_deaths_2017-2022.pdf
Credits
Crackdown is produced on the territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil Waututh Nations.
Our editorial board is: Samona Marsh, Shelda Kastor, Jeff Louden, Dean Wilson, Laura Shaver, Reija Jean. Rest in peace, Dave Murray, Greg Fresz and Chereece Keewatin.
This episode was conceptualized, written, and produced by Sam Fenn, Alex de Boer, Lisa Hale, Bones, Danya Fast, Rebecca Saah and Garth Mullins.
Score by James Ash and Sam Fenn.
Today’s episode was supported in part by funds from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Vancouver Foundation, and Michael Smith Health Research BC.
If you like what we do, support us at patreon.com/crackdownpod.
