Study Finds DULF Reduced Overdoses by Distributing Tested Drugs

published on March 5, 2024 by Michelle Gamage in The Tyee

Research first published informally by Vancouver’s Drug User Liberation Front has now been published in a peer-reviewed international journal.

DULF bought heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine from online sources known to sell purer forms of these drugs, rigorously tested the drugs and then sold them at cost to its 47 compassion club members. Members lived in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside neighbourhood, were 19 years old and up, were members of a drug user group in Vancouver and were at high risk of overdose.

The study, published recently in the International Journal of Drug Policy, found the 47 compassion club members were less likely to die from overdose while they were able to access this safer supply.

Shortly after DULF published its preliminary findings, Vancouver police arrested and raided the workplaces and homes of DULF co-founders Eris Nyx and Jeremy Kalicum. This effectively ended the compassion club. The pair have not been charged…