Matthew is the program coordinator with the Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs. He’s also a National Board member with Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Board member of the International Network of Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users, and a knowledge translator for the Dr. Peters Centre. His freelance writing has appeared in publications including The Conversation, CATIE, Doctors Nova Scotia, Policy Options and The Coast. Matthew is also on Canada’s 64th Canadian Delegation on the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. He is a current drug user and a formerly incarcerated person.
Not everyone goes to detox to become abstinent. People go for all kinds of reasons—reasons that may change from one…
[This article contains an image of injection wounds.] I had my first injection infection in the winter of 2020. I…
Nobody knows the smell, taste or feeling of pure cocaine like someone who injects it. Eric Sampson, who's well known…
Everyone deserves access to health care. It should be unconditional. If you have diabetes and still enjoy the occasional unhealthy…
I have been doing Valium since the age of 16. They were called “blueberries” where I was from, and there…
In the early days of October, Shawn* was detained by police in the city of Mexicali, the capital of Baja…
The Drug User Liberation Front, a Vancouver-based activist group, made a serious statement on June 23. During a protest in…
[This article contains graphic descriptions of drug use and overdose.] Overdosing and being treated for it during the pandemic…
Imagine being on a medication, any medication, and all a sudden it doesn’t work anymore. It only works for about…
Methamphetamine-related harms vary across Canada. Our west coast has obviously been hit hard, as British Columbia and Alberta have suffered…