It has been almost impossible to read the news in recent weeks and not see a frenzied article about vaping, e-cigarettes, and vaping products. With seventeen reported deaths connected to vaping products as of October 2nd in the United States and many more hospitalizations, governments are struggling to craft an appropriate response to the rising fear from the public in tandem with the unknowns of what exactly is happening and from which products the harms are stemming from...

On May 3rd, the Quebec Superior Court struck down key sections of Quebec’s anti-vaping law that sought to treat vaping products essentially the same as cigarettes. The decision recognizes vaping as a form of harm reduction as it allows people who would otherwise smoke lethal cigarettes to get the nicotine they need or want without the inhalation of smoke. As the harm from cigarette use is overwhelmingly due to the inhalation of smoke rather than the nicotine, the decision underscores important lessons for harm reduction...

Edibles, extracts and topicals were sorely missed when cannabis became legal last October 17. The Cannabis Act did not regulate edibles, extracts and topicals, despite the popularity of these edible cannabis products in other jurisdictions where cannabis is legal. In theory one could make these kinds of products with legal cannabis products and the home-made versions are permitted under the law. But there are risks with these do-it-yourself cannabis products...

For decades, people who use drugs have organized survival tactics with their communities and worked to dismantle the harm-producing system of prohibition under the umbrella term of the harm reduction movement.Community-organized and -operated overdose prevention sites (OPS) are the latest iteration of this movement, working in the context of the overdose emergency to save lives and effect systemic change...

Lost in the often vitriolic debate over electronic cigarettes versus traditional cigarettes are little nonbiodegradable pieces of plastic: cigarette butts. They are the world’s most ubiquitous form of litter, with millions upon millions of them infesting the environment. And yet this raging debate has focused almost entirely on how best to protect people’s health. The debate needs to expand to take into account how the environment stands to benefit from the shift away from traditional cigarettes...

Premier Doug Ford’s government is in the midst of reviewing whether to continue funding safe injection and overdose prevention sites in Ontario. During this review, the opening of three overdose prevention sites has been put on hold. In 2017, more than three people died every day of an overdose in Ontario; totalling 1261 deaths across the province. We urge the government to continue funding these sites as the evidence overwhelmingly provides that these sites are a critical tool in combatting the current overdose epidemic and in reducing the risk of harm to people who use drugs...