andie

28. she/any. ditch doctor in the bandaid brigade. the only way to load the dice is to keep on fighting 🇵🇸

[Drug User Liberation Front @DULFBC]

Legal Aid Fundraiser II

An Open Letter to Our Supporters: Join Us in the Fight for Harm Reduction

Dear Friends, Allies, and Advocates,

Between August 2022 and October 2023, the Drug User Liberation Front’s Compassion Club and Fulfillment Centre (DULF CC&FC) made history. As the first initiative of its kind, we offered a groundbreaking approach amidst an escalating overdose crisis in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES).

Operating as a non-profit, low-barrier, and non-medicalized model, we built on decades of harm reduction strategies by providing rigorously tested heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, at cost, paired with a supervised consumption space. We proved that a regulated drug supply isn’t just a concept; it’s a solution that saves lives.

But our work, and the lives it impacted, remain at risk.

What’s at Stake

DULF co-founders Eris Nyx and Jeremy Kalicum are facing criminal charges under section 5(2) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) for the compassionate and life-saving work of providing a regulated, predictable drug supply to some of the people most at risk from the toxic drug supply. We are now engaged in a legal battle to defend harm reduction, challenge outdated drug laws, and demand justice for those disproportionately affected by the toxic drug crisis. This legal challenge seeks to prove that section 5(2) of the CDSA is unconstitutional and that its enforcement is killing the very people it purports to protect.

We argue:

1. Section 7 (Life, Liberty, and Security of the Person):
Criminalizing alternatives to the unregulated street supply of drugs denies people access to a predictable, safer alternative, forcing them to rely on volatile and deadly street drugs. This prohibition is arbitrary, overbroad, and disproportionately endangers lives.

2. Section 15 (Equality Before the Law):
This law perpetuates discrimination against people with disabilities, including those living with substance use disorders, by depriving them of safer options and treating their lives as less worthy of dignity and protection.

We will back up these arguments with a large body of evidence regarding the efficacy of safer supply generally and of our compassion club specifically. We will present first-hand evidence about how our program worked and the positive results it achieved, as well as evidence from leading experts in the fields of addictions, epidemiology, public health and drug-checking.

By challenging this law, we’re fighting not just for safer supply but for systemic change. This case has the potential to set a precedent that could save countless lives across Canada.

The Progress We’ve Made

Thanks to your overwhelming generosity, we successfully raised $150,000 in 2024 to cover the initial stages of this legal fight. Those funds have allowed us to challenge these charges and lay the groundwork for this constitutional case.

But the fight is far from over. As we move deeper into this complex legal battle, the stakes, and the costs, are rising.

The Road Ahead

Our case is currently heading to trial in the BC Supreme Court, with the possibility of appeals to the BC Court of Appeal and, ultimately, the Supreme Court of Canada. The timeline is demanding:

October 6–10, October 14–17, and October 20-24: Crown’s case on the charges and our exemption defense.

November 24–28, December 1–5, and December 8–12: Evidence on our constitutional challenge.

January 26-30: Oral arguments on the constitutional challenge.

Our lawyers will need to put a huge amount of effort into preparing and presenting our evidence and legal arguments. They are working at a fraction of their normal rates, but because of the time required the cost will still be very high. To this end, we must raise $350,000 by October 1st, and we need your help to ensure we can present the most rigorous, effective case possible.

How You Can Help
E-Transfers and PayPal, send funds to:
[email protected]

Bitcoin Donations, send Bitcoin to:
bc1qhtj9v8tu0vwhwef4p56qn5slwanq0sd5f7tqmj

Monero Donations, send Monero to:
44nir2Kcv1R9XSTTwpPS1eGna1psMVnEtWoK2BeEe5Ld7TU9BuunLD84gSSgydLPMqa5bb9rKGLw2FywNge4USuoKSZQmvV

Join Our Legal Sustainer Donor Program: Become a dedicated partner in the fight for harm reduction and legal justice. By contributing regularly through DULF’s Sustainer Donor Program, you help fund critical legal costs, policy reform advocacy, and support for those most impacted by discriminatory drug policies.

Learn more and join here: https://t.co/civffdHGc4

Spread the Word: Share this letter and help us rally support for harm reduction and safer supply.

Stay Engaged: Starting March 1, 2025, we’ll provide biweekly updates on our website, and to our mailing list. These updates will track our fundraising progress and any case developments.

This Is More Than a Legal Case

This case represents the front line in the fight against Canada’s toxic drug crisis. Safer supply is a proven public health measure that reduces overdose deaths, challenges stigma, and saves lives. But entrenched opposition, rooted in fear and misinformation, continues to push back against harm reduction with punitive policies that only deepen the crisis.

This is a fight for science, compassion, and justice over stigma, cruelty, and negligence. With your help, we can ensure that life-saving strategies like safer supply are not just defended but expanded.

Let’s Make History Together

DULF’s CC&FC proved that a better way is possible. We showed that compassion, innovation, and evidence-based solutions can save lives and inspire change. Now, we need your help to protect this progress.

Your support got us through the first stage of this fight, now, let’s finish it. Together, we can challenge unjust laws, defend harm reduction, and fight for a future where no one is left behind in the overdose crisis.

Link to original post: https://t.co/psoKv5iD8E

[Mr. Chau @Srirachachau]

What can you even say anymore…it’s very straightforwardly a genocide

[andie @fearbuds]

👀🪩🫁❔

[Jamrock Hobo @JamrockHobo]

Today marks the announcement of SUMMER ETERNAL,
"a cultural megaproject, a RPG with complexity and ambition worthy to rival our wretched and wonderful world."
The studio takes the form of a creative co-op, made up of several ex ZA/UM employees.
https://t.co/Ar9iu65I43

[andie @fearbuds]

hell yeah. hope there’s more of this to come

[Andrew Boozary MD @drandrewb]

Welcome to Dunn House — a prescription for change that has been years in the making. Housing is health. And this is the power of partnership.

51 UHN patients with no fixed address comprised over 4,000 emergency department visits in the past year. This is driven by the pathologies of poverty.

For the 51 individuals moving in, this is more than housing—it's good health care. With primary care, Indigenous-led support, harm reduction and addiction treatment services, we’re redefining compassionate care for people experiencing homelessness.

The work isn't done until tenants are settled in—and won’t feel real until I’m seeing patients in the clinic room right onsite. While a month in hospital costs over $30,000, supportive housing costs just $4,000, promoting human dignity and sound health economics.

Grateful to our entire team, all partners and the advocacy of the Parkdale community for making this possible. This is just the beginning of showing the world that housing is healthcare.

[PHS @PHScss]

A Toronto hospital now provides supportive housing for patients.

Because housing is healthcare.

https://t.co/8Qv8R21Jdy

[Meg @megannn_lynne]

hey girl how have you been??? omg, married with baby #2 on the way? amazing!!! me? ahahaha i’m just chilling, trying to ignore The Dark Empty! hmmm? ohhhh that’s just what i call the constant gnawing certainty that nothing will ever satisfy me! tell your folks i said hi :)

[andie @fearbuds]

@SNIDE405 academia is so discriminatory towards us gamers smh

[andie @fearbuds]

have an anatomy & physiology test tomorrow but unfortunately i just started playing citizen sleeper so i will be failing that </3

[🫀lesbian armand !! @AM0KTIM3]

star trek if it was full of whimsy

[Jackie Seidel, PhD @JackieSeidel1]

Devastating article. Anyone mentions AI at work today I'll hand them this.

"When the supercomputer gets to full capacity, the local utility says it’s going to need a million gallons of water per day and 150 megawatts of electricity — enough to power 100,000 homes per year."

[BeadsAgainstFascism 🇵🇸 @beadagainstfash]

Matt Nelson, the man who self-immolated outside the israeli embassy in Boston two days ago:

[Yogurt Enjoyer @talleyelash]

Angel I saw in a dream

[suz @suzwhoever]

this is exactly what I mean when I send the salute emoji

[beth is looking for work 👁️ @bef_illustrates]

haunting the narrative #discoelysium

[andie @fearbuds]

just forgot ezra miller’s name and called them isla fisher

[andie @fearbuds]

@sawadalama i lover her anyway 💚

[andie @fearbuds]

@sawadalama perfect in every way?

[Spring Magazine @springmagca]

In two hours over 20k have sent emails in support of Fred Hahn to CUPE national board. @cupenat has grossly underestimated members' commitment to democracy and support for Palestine. https://t.co/N0zHiBXwRk

#StandWithFredHahn

[Laura Stone @l_stone]

Here is a list of supervised consumption sites set to close no later than March 31, 2025 as a result of the ban - nine are provincially funded; one is self-funded.