Matthew Bonn

Matthew is an International Board member with International Network of Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users, and a knowledge translator for the Dr. Peters Centre. He was previously the program manager with the Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs. His freelance writing has appeared in publications including The Conversation, CATIE, Doctors Nova Scotia, Policy Options and The Coast. Matthew was also on the 64th Canadian delegation to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. He is a current drug user and a formerly incarcerated person.

I Just Overdosed Again. This Time, It Was Different.

I’ve been using drugs—opioids, stimulants and many others—on and off for basically my whole adult life. I don’t see it…

September 26, 2024

Overdose Response Training Should Teach the Jaw Thrust Maneuver

I’ve been using fentanyl and other opioids, off and on, for the past 15 years. I’ve experienced a lot of…

September 12, 2024

Providence, RI, Overdose Prevention Center Set to Open This Fall

Claire Macon in Providence, Rhode Island, has one of the rarest job titles in the United States: overdose prevention center…

August 21, 2024

World Hepatitis Day: How Scotland Worked With People Who Inject Drugs

I’ve experienced a lot of harms related to substance use, but the one that got me into harm reduction was…

July 26, 2024

Europe Faces Potential Transformation of Its Drug Supply

In North America, fentanyl and other potent synthetic drugs in the supply have been associated with an unprecedented overdose crisis…

May 23, 2024

Protonitazepyne and Medetomidine? More Unfamiliar Drugs in Our Supply

North America’s unregulated drug supply has grown ever more unpredictable, which often means deadly. Since the arrival of fentanyl, the…

April 9, 2024

Atlantic Canada’s New Hospital Services for People Who Use Drugs

There are all kinds of reasons a person who uses drugs might need to go to the emergency room. These…

March 26, 2024

“Another Dimension”—OD Deaths Fall Sharply in Areas Close to SCS

Safe consumption sites don’t just protect people from fatal overdose within their walls, suggests recent research. The study, published in…

February 29, 2024

My Benzo Withdrawals Induced Delirium, I’ve Come to Understand

I’ve always enjoyed using benzodiazepines. These depressants—the best known are pharmaceutical brands like Xanax, Valium and Ativan—produce a distinct type…

February 21, 2024

Fentanyl Patches Are Saving My Life. We Need to Make Them Accessible.

True safe supply means a legal and regulated supply of the same drugs people access through the unregulated market. In Canada,…

June 1, 2023