TJ Felix, a 36-year-old artist and musician, shares their struggles with addiction in Vancouver, where they use a lethal combination of fentanyl and methamphetamine to avoid withdrawal. Despite multiple treatment attempts, they found stabilization through a compassion club providing safe heroin until access was cut off in 2023, forcing a return to street drugs. Internal Health Canada reports reveal that the government ignored expert recommendations to expand safe supply programs amid the opioid crisis. Since 2016, over 53,000 Canadians have died from drug overdoses, primarily due to fentanyl, highlighting the urgent need for safer alternatives.
