Two People Arrested in Connection With Vancouver-Based Group That Distributes Illicit ‘Safe Supply’ Drugs

Methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine from a safe supply being handed out to drug users by the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, Drug User Liberation Front, and Moms Stop the Harm to mark International Overdose Awareness Day, are displayed in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver on Aug. 31, 2021. Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press

Two members of a Vancouver “harm reduction” group that was receiving government funding were arrested after a police investigation uncovered the group was providing heroin, cocaine, and meth to clients.

The two individuals, identified on social media as Erix Nyx and Jeremy Kalicum from the Drug User Liberation Front (DULF), were arrested by Vancouver police on Oct. 26 after an investigation that included multiple search warrants.

“While DULF’s actions were intended to reduce the harms caused by toxic drugs, we have always warned that anyone who violates the Criminal Code or the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act could face enforcement and criminal charges,” Vancouver Police Department Insp. Phil Heard said in a news release.

“This group has knowingly operated illegally in the Downtown Eastside and we have now taken action to stop it.”

The release said DULF “has publicly admitted to trafficking controlled substances such as heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamines.”

DULF’s office in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, along with two East Vancouver homes, were searched by police. Police will consider criminal charges once they have completed their investigation, the release said.

“While we support progressive drug policy and believe harm reduction strategies reduce the number of lives lost due to drug toxicity, we are steadfast in our insistence that all strategies be fully compliant with the law,” Insp. Heard said. “Anyone who ignores the law or fails to obtain proper legal exemptions should expect to be the subject of enforcement action.”

Government Funding

B.C.’s ruling NDP, which has provided funding to DULF through Vancouver Coastal Health, was questioned about the arrests during the legislative sitting Oct. 26.

BC United Party’s Kevin Falcon asked the NDP about the $1.2 million given to DULF and the Vancouver and Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) in light of the arrests.

“Tax dollars given to them by the NDP enabled the Drug Users Liberation Front to buy heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine from organized crime on the dark web,” Mr. Falcon said. He asked if the NDP would cooperate with the police investigation.

NDP MLA and Minister for Public Safety Mike Farnworth said the funding was given through a contract awarded by Vancouver Coastal Health “for the testing of drugs for overdose prevention and assisting people and helping people in preventing them from dying.”

“In no way, shape, or form were any of those funds intended for the purchase of illegal drugs,” he said, adding that the contract has since been cancelled.

“This government fully expects that when a contract is awarded for a specific purpose—in this case, to save lives, to prevent overdoses—the terms and conditions of that contract are followed and when they weren’t, and when the government found out, the contract was immediately cancelled.”

The Epoch Times reached out to DULF, Vancouver Coastal Health, and Mr. Farnworth, but did not hear back by publication time.

Support for DULF

VANDU, which partners with DULF, said it stands behind the actions of Mr. Nyx and Mr. Kalicum.

In a letter posted on X Oct. 26, they said the police action is part of a “coordinated campaign to discredit and dismantle harm reduction in British Columbia and Canada at large.”

They called the actions a “war on our community” and said they would stand with DULF.

“DULF saves lives,” the organization said.

VANDU pointed to self-collected data on the 35 percent reduction of overdoses due to the safe supply of the drugs DULF was selling. There were 50 percent fewer hospitalizations and 48 percent fewer police interactions by those who joined DULF’s “compassion club.”

The compassion club tests the ingredients of street drugs, according to documents on DULF’s website. The drugs are then repackaged and given to club participants. The goal is to reduce overdoses, DULF said.

VANDU’s letter says humanity has a “moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws,” adding that “you can jail a revolutionary but you cannot jail a revolution.”