Inside Vancouver’s Underground Lifesavers: How Addicts Became First Responders

At the peak of North America’s fentanyl catastrophe, Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside witnessed an extraordinary shift—people who use drugs took survival into their own hands. Love in the Time of Fentanyl, a documentary now streaming on VICE’s YouTube channel, captures this underground resistance through the lens of the Overdose Prevention Society, a renegade safe-injection site operating in legal limbo.

Words by: Dr. Silas Mercer

Biotech & Longevity Editor