Episode 49: The Best Place
(Photo by Sarah West, 2016 [Alt text: Photo of a man’s face reflected in a dark window. Drops of rain on the glass look like tears on his face. In the bottom left you can see the window pane and the word “Crackdown” written in dark block letters.])
Vancouver, British Columbia is one of the best places on earth – a world class city surrounded by ocean and mountains. If you can afford it, the good life is yours.
But over the last fifteen years, Vancouver has become more dangerous for drug users than ever before. Especially young drug users.
In episode 49, we hear from professor Danya Fast and Sarah West, one of Danya’s research collaborators. Both reflect on what it’s like to witness and to document preventable deaths during this crisis.
Transcript:
A complete transcript of this episode will be uploaded here when ready.
Works Cited:
BC Centre for Disease Control. “What we know about stimulant use and drug poisoning in BC.” 2023. http://www.bccdc.ca/resource-gallery/Documents/Statistics%20and%20Research/Statistics%20and%20Reports/Overdose/2023.01.12_Stimulant%20use%20factsheet.pdf.
BC Coroners Service. “PREVENTING DEATH AFTER OVERDOSE: BC Coroners Service Child Death Review Panel A Review of Overdose Deaths in Youth and Young Adults 2009-2013.” 13, January 2016. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/birth-adoption-death-marriage-and-divorce/deaths/coroners-service/child-death-review-unit/reports-publications/overdose-death-youth-young-adult.pdf.
BC Coroners Service. “YOUTH UNREGULATED DRUG TOXICITY DEATHS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2023.” https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/birth-adoption-death-marriage-and-divorce/deaths/coroners-service/statistical/youth_unregulated_drug_toxicity_deaths_in_bc_2019-2023.pdf.
Benson, Krista. “Carrying Stories of Incarcerated Indigenous Women as Tools for Prison Abolition.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies 41 no.2 (2020): 143-67. Project MUSE, https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/fro.2020.a765274.
Britten, Liam. “B.C. premier's new cabinet brings an end to stand-alone mental health and addictions ministry.” CBC News, Nov 19, 2024. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-mental-health-addictions-ministry-1.7387067.
Fast, Danya. The Best Place: Addictions, Interventions and Living and Dying Young in Vancouver. Rutgers University Press, 2024.
Fast, Danya, et al. “Staying Together No Matter What: Becoming Young Parents on the Streets of Vancouver.” Cult Med Psychiatry 47, No.4 . (2023):1043-1066. doi:10.1007/s11013-022-09813-1.
Fowler, Jennifer. “Creator of Sixties Scoop adoption program says it wasn't meant to place kids with white families.” CBC News, March 20, 2018. https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/creator-of-sixties-scoop-adoption-program-says-it-wasn-t-meant-to-place-kids-with-white-families-1.4584342.
Hennessey, Darcy. “Home.” Kiddo Films, BCCSU Living On Film Series: Episode 3, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g9gF8dFbpk&t=234s.
Johnston, P. Native children and the child welfare system. Canadian Council on Social Development in association with James Lorimer & Co, 1983.
MacDonald, Nancy & MacDonald, Judy. “Reflections of a Mi’kmaq social worker on a quarter of a century work in First Nations child welfare.” First Peoples Child & Family Review 3, No. 1, (2007): 39. https://fpcfr.com/index.php/FPCFR/article/view/23/61.
Million, Dian. “Felt Theory: An Indigenous Feminist Approach to Affect and History.” Wicazo Sa Review 24 no.2 (2009): 53-76. Project MUSE, https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/wic.0.0043.
Mukavetz, Andrea Riley. "Females, the Strong Ones: Listening to the Lived Experiences of American Indian Women." Studies in American Indian Literatures, vol. 30 no. 1, 2018, p. 1-23. Project MUSE, https://dx.doi.org/10.5250/studamerindilite.30.1.0001.
Palmer, Vaughn. “'I told you so': Dr. Perry Kendall warned in 2017 the NDP's Addictions Ministry would fail.” Vancouver Sun, Nov 22, 2024. https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/dr-perry-kendall-warned-ndp-addictions-ministry-would-fail.
Tremonti, Anna Maria. “B.C. declares public health emergency after 200 overdose deaths in 2016.” The Current (CBC Radio), April 2016. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-april-21-2016-1.3546280/b-c-declares-public-health-emergency-after-200-overdose-deaths-in-2016-1.3546338.
Quinn, Stephen. "The Best Place: Addiction, Intervention, and Living and Dying Young in Vancouver." The Early Edition (CBC Radio), February 29, 2024. https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-91-the-early-edition/clip/16045994-the-best-place-addiction-intervention-living-dying-young.
Credits:
Our editorial board is Dean Wilson, Jeff Louden, Laura Shaver, Samona Marsh, Shelda Kastor, Elli Taylor, Delilah Gregg, and Martin Steward.
Rest in peace Dave Murray, Greg Fresz and Chereece Keewatin.
This episode was conceptualized, written, and produced by Sam Fenn, Alex de Boer, Danya Fast, Lisa Hale and me, Garth Mullins.
Mix by Alex Kim.
Radio diaries and cover art by Sarah West.
Our academic partner for this episode is Danya Fast. Funding was provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Michael Smith Health Research BC.
We played clips from Sarah’s film Home, which was directed by Darcy Hennessey and produced by Kiddo Films.
Theme song by Sam Fenn and Garth Mullins. All other music by Blue Dot Sessions.
You’ll find Danya Fast’s book, The Best Place: Addiction, Intervention and Living and Dying Young in Vancouver, online and at most bookstores.
If you like what we do here at Crackdown, please support us at patreon.com/crackdownpod.
Thanks for listening. Stay safe and keep six.
