Society & Culture

Crackdown

by Crackdown Productions

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Latest episodes

Episode 59: They’re Running Against Us

October 15, 2026 · 1 hr 10 min

A big legal win for DULF means a defeat for the drug war: all charges have been dropped against our comrades, Jeremy and Eris. Meanwhile, election time in BC & Ontario means more fearmongering & scapegoating of drug users. On Episode 59…
Episode 58: Toothless Tiger

September 4, 2026 · 1 hr 4 min

Cops kill people. They hurt people. They sexually assault people. And when they do, there’s a whole system that’s supposed to hold them accountable, but it barely works. On Episode 58, Garth and Sam dig into Canada’s rotten history of…
Episode 57: We Ain’t Dead Yet

July 22, 2026 · 48 min

Description Garth and Sam discuss Elanore Sturko, Vaughn Palmer and Tristin Hopper’s responses to Canada’s declining overdose deaths in 2025. Was it the NDP’s abandonment of decriminalization and “prescribed alternatives” that caused…
Episode 56: Extraordinary Circumstances

January 30, 2026 · 53 min

It’s been almost six years since the launch of BC’s tiny safe supply program; also known as “prescribed alternatives.” Although the evidence that safe supply saves lives hasn’t changed, the political favourability of BC’s program has. In…
Episode 55: The Man in the High Castle

July 1, 2025 · 43 min

With fascism on the rise around the world, we explore the relationship between Canada’s housing and policing policies and the risk of far right authoritarianism at home. Share Post Reddit Email

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Episode 54: Get Sober or Get Dead

June 4, 2025 · 49 min

Alberta is the involuntary treatment capital of Canada. Since 2006, the province has encouraged parents to waive their children’s rights and force them into detox as part of the Protection of Children Abusing Drugs Act. And in the coming…
Episode 53: Goodbye Trey

May 13, 2025 · 23 min

We lost another soldier from the front lines. Trey Helten, longtime manager of the Overdose Prevention Society and all around harm reduction hero on the Downtown Eastside has died at 42. Trey saved hundreds of lives. He was a friend to…
Episode 52: We Will Delete All This

April 15, 2025 · 33 min

Garth’s new book, Crackdown: Surviving and Resisting the War On Drugs, has just been published by Penguin Random House and is now available for purchase online. In Episode 52 of Crackdown, Garth reads a chapter of his book called “We…
Episode 51: Goodbye Shelda

April 7, 2025 · 13 min

On March 26th, we learned that our dear friend and comrade Shelda Kastor passed away. Shelda was a hero who dedicated decades of her life to fighting for the poor, drug users, Indigenous people, and women in Vancouver. Since Crackdown’s…
Episode 50: The Toll

March 13, 2025 · 45 min

It’s the end of an era in Canada. On March 10th – after nine years in power – Mark Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as Canada’s Prime Minister. We mark the occasion by looking back at Trudeau’s legacy on the drug war: over 50,000 preventable…
What happens when you give drug users drugs?

February 3, 2025 · 54 min

In this bonus episode, we’re introducing On Drugs from CBC. On Drugs from CBC looks through the lenses of history, pop culture and personal experience to understand how drugs have shaped our world. Because even if it’s just caffeine or…
Episode 49: The Best Place

December 6, 2024 · 41 min

Vancouver, British Columbia, is one of the best places on earth – a world class city surrounded by ocean and mountains. If you can afford it, the good life is yours. But over the last fifteen years, Vancouver has become more dangerous for…

Full episode archive on Apple Podcasts →

About the show

The drug war, covered by drug users as war correspondents. Crackdown is a monthly podcast about drugs, drug policy and the drug war led by drug user activists and supported by research. Each episode will tell the story of a community fighting for their lives. It’s also about solutions, justice for those we have lost, and saving lives.