Overdose
Heartbreak and Hope in Canada's Opioid Crisis
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Overdose
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Narrated by:
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John Cleland
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Written by:
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Benjamin Perrin
About this listen
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED for the 2021 BC Book Awards' George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature
SHORTLISTED for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes, for both the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize and Jim Deva Prize for Writing That Provokes
SHORTLISTED for the 2021 J. W. Dafoe Book Prize
SHORTLISTED for the 2020 Lane Anderson Award
“Overdose is a necessary and searching investigation into a devastating epidemic that should never have happened. Benjamin Perrin painstakingly shows that it need not continue if we, as a society, heed the evidence.”
—Gabor Maté M.D., author of In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction
An astonishing and powerful look at the ongoing opioid crisis
North America is in the middle of a health emergency. Life expectancies are declining. Someone is dying every two hours in Canada from illicit drug overdose. Fentanyl has become a looming presence—an opioid more powerful, pervasive, and deadly than any previous street drug.
The victims are many—and often not whom we might expect. They include the poor and forgotten but also our neighbours: professionals, students, and parents. Despite the thousands of deaths, these victims have remained largely invisible.
But not anymore. Benjamin Perrin, a law and policy expert, shines a light in this darkest of corners—and his findings challenge many assumptions about the crisis. Why do people use drugs despite the risk of overdosing? Can we crack down on the fentanyl supply? Do supervised consumption sites and providing “safe drugs” enable the problem? Which treatments work? Would decriminalizing all drugs help or do further harm?
In this urgent and humane look at a devastating epidemic, Perrin draws on behind-the-scenes interviews with those on the frontlines, including undercover police officers, intelligence analysts, border agents, prosecutors, healthcare professionals, Indigenous organizations, activists, and people who use drugs. Not only does he unveil the many complexities of this situation, but he also offers a new way forward—one that may save thousands of lives.
What the critics say
2021, BC Book Awards, The George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature, Short-listed
2021, BC Book Prize's Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize, Short-listed
2021, BC Book Prize's Jim Deva Prize for Writing That Provokes, Short-listed
2021, Dafoe Book Prize, Short-listed
"Overdose is a necessary and searching investigation into a devastating epidemic that should never have happened. Benjamin Perrin painstakingly shows that it need not continue if we, as a society, heed the evidence." (Gabor Maté MD, author of In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction)
"In Overdose, we walk the streets with the author and meet law enforcement officers, healthcare providers, former users, and activists. Along the way, we overcome any prejudice we may have toward the opioid crisis and its victims. Using empirical research, Perrin guides us through the ramifications of the complex problem of the opioid crisis and looks at ways forward. A real eye-opener." (The Hon. Marie Deschamps, former Justice, Supreme Court of Canada)
What listeners say about Overdose
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2023-09-28
Great book.
This book has answers for people who have loved ones in trouble with addictions. It is difficult to know what to do when faced with this kind of crisis. This helps to understand. Thank you Benjamin Perrin.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Gurinder Malhi
- 2020-04-19
Very Informative, Research in depth
loved it. written very well and narrated very well. worth every penny. lot of knowledge.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Brianna Hull
- 2021-02-13
Everyone should read this book.
Definitely as a society we need to look at how the war on drugs had fail and turn to the research that shows how best to deal with addiction.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amanda Rogers
- 2022-09-03
Thank You
As someone who works in the field of harm reduction and social justice, fighting the war on drugs because our community is being poisoned to death by toxic drugs and failed policies and no one seems to care..... thank you so much! 💜 I wish everyone could take the time to read this, educate themselves on the drug poisoning crisis, build compassion and fight with us! #supportnotstigma
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2022-04-23
Engaging but biased
The author doesn’t address some of the very real concerns around safe supply. He is biased, for sure. He does a good job at presenting the pro-safe supply literature and the logic of Decriminalization. He could have spent a lot more time on the stunningly fast and universal support for harm reduction- one leg in the four pillar evidence based approach to problematic substance use. (The others are enforcement, which he fairly covers), treatment (short shrift),and prevention- (not discussed at all. See Iceland’s incredible work to prevent or delay substance use in youth) now being piloted in many parts of the world. Also dismisses abstinence, even though that remains the goal most often stated by those addicted. Yep. AA/NA often fail. Comparing it to programs that supply drugs, though, isn’t a fair comparison.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 2023-09-21
Mind opening backed by superb research
This book answers the difficult question of what the opioid crisis is and ways we can address it. It’s a difficult topic. The Audio book is a great way to understand this important material. We can’t continue to look away. This crisis affects every one of us. I was blown away by the depth of research and how the author created a story that captured my attention. Solution based!
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- ReennaC
- 2020-04-13
A Calling for Drug Policy reform in Canada
Benjamin Perrin, the former top criminal justice punishment policy adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, published a new book regarding the opioid crisis in Canada. His book, once again strongly confirmed the failures of the prohibition regime and the war on drugs. It provided direct insights from numerous representatives within the criminal justice system, the health care system, and the social welfare system.
It is now the time for the provincial and federal government to act on the overdose crisis in the midst of two public health emergencies. It is time to admit the supply and demand of illicit substances, including fentanyl at the street level, comes hand in hand. It is now the time to reduce the demand for unregulated and unsafe opioid supply and stop feeding into profits of criminal organization groups. It is now the time to end the stigmas around substance use disorders and develop evidence-based policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Overdose” provides recommendations of immediate actions that need to be adopted and implemented by policymakers. It is now the time to learn from our mistakes and develop comprehensive strategies that do not focus on fear-mongering, but inclusion and compassion.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jody Goodwin
- 2022-12-05
Great points for moving forward
Finally, a book that gives a greater scope of how to move forward with the opioid crisis. If only our "leaders" in politics could pay attention to the recommendations and do the right thing. I appreciate the attention towards compassion for people fighting this disease. It's time to understand that this is a medical and mental health crisis and not a choice on the part of the afflicted. Cheers to the organizations in Canada fighting to create an environment for people to safely use and test drugs during this very challenging time with a poisoned drug supply. I hope more resources appear along these lines. Excellent research!
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- Lisa Tomlinson
- 2023-09-30
He is right about everything researched
Amazed at true the info this is the info we are addicted to only know those who aren't never underrated this or even can wrap their heads around the issues
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- Milda
- 2024-04-05
excellent and very informative
since I am studying something related to the field of mental health and addictions and had a lot of background knowledge on the subject, this was a great overview of already gathered knowledge. highly recommend to all: sceptics and advocates! the moto of: "base opinions on facts" is very to the point!
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