Episode Details

Independent Journalist. Content Creator. Independent Reporting To create more awareness about the homeless issues, mental health and addiction issues, and the misinformation about the people that live in their addiction.Support: http://drewcouver.com/donate.phphttps://www.drewcouver.com/https://x.com/DrewCouver56Drew Coover on Vancouver’s addiction crisis, NGOs, and the fight over harm reductionThis episode follows Drew Coover, an independent journalist documenting homelessness, addiction, mental health, and street-level drug use across Vancouver and beyond. Graham and Darren press him on what he is seeing on the ground, and the conversation widens into treatment policy, organized crime, NGOs, and what recovery should actually look like.Drew brings a highly personal perspective too. He talks about his own history with addiction, injury, recovery, group homes, and the way those experiences shaped the camera work and interviews he now does in the downtown east side and across British Columbia.Key topics

• Drew shares his background growing up in BC, moving to Vancouver at 18, getting into nightlife and drugs, surviving severe addiction, and eventually getting sober.
• He explains how back injuries, opioid prescriptions, and a bad COVID-era spiral pushed him into a new round of dependence before he chose to get clean again.
• The discussion centers on Vancouver’s downtown east side, where Drew says harm reduction has become disconnected from recovery and public safety.
• Drew argues that treatment in BC and Alberta often keeps people on methadone, Suboxone, hydromorphone, or fentanyl rather than pushing abstinence.
• He contrasts Alberta’s approach with BC’s and says Alberta is at least less rigid about forcing people off harm-reduction medication in treatment.
• The conversation turns to open-air drug markets, apps used by dealers, and cross-contamination in the cocaine and fentanyl supply.
• Drew describes the hollowing out of downtown cores across BC cities such as Prince George, Vernon, Kelowna, Smithers, and others.
• He claims NGOs and nonprofit networks have become a major money channel, especially around housing, homelessness, and Aboriginal-focused organizations.
• The episode digs into how funding, grant writing, and identity-based programs can create systems that protect institutions more than they help addicts.
• Drew makes a broad case for returning to tougher recovery standards, more consequences for crime, and a stronger role for 12-step programs and personal accountability.