International Overdose Awareness Day, an annual campaign to end overdose and drug poisonings while also remembering those who have died, is Aug. 31. Events are being held in communities across Canada, a sign of a worsening crisis that has taken more than 36,000 lives since 2016.
The day also represents an opportunity to discuss much-needed policy changes. The decriminalization of people who use drugs has long been one of the proposed solutions, an approach that is currently being piloted in British Columbia.
