This past weekend, from June 3-6, over thirty thousand people from nearly one hundred countries gathered at Vancouver's BC Place for an international convention of Alcoholics Anonymous, a program many consider the most successful recovery program in the world.

Former alcoholics and others recovering from drug addiction came together to celebrate their sobriety with opening ceremonies, motivational speakers, dances and community. But just a few blocks away, Vancouver's Downtown Eastside East Hastings remained in crisis.

What was once the historic heart of Vancouver has become the epicentre of the country's addiction and mental health crises, crises that only intensified under B.C.'s socialist government and its controversial 'safer supply' and drug decriminalization agenda.

Despite the fact that 12-step recovery programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous have helped millions worldwide, government-led programs in B.C. rarely, if ever, refer struggling individuals to them.

Instead, the province, underfunded for treatment and recovery options, became the first jurisdiction in the world to fully implement a blanket 'safer supply' policy in 2020.

Under the direction of then Mental Health & Addictions minister Sheila Malcolmson and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, the policy allowed the prescribing of hard drugs, including stimulants and injectable fentanyl, to people in active addiction, paid for by taxpayers.

The public was told the shift would create 'harm reduction,' and reduce overdoses, but they were wrong.

A 2024 investigation published in JAMA Internal Medicine confirmed that the so-called 'safer supply' policy has been correlated with significant increases in drug poisonings and hospitalizations. Overdoses have continued to climb, and even the Liberal federal government has finally conceded that B.C.'s 'safer supply' model has largely failed.

Meanwhile, there is mounting evidence that these prescribed drugs have been diverted—sold illegally, trafficked across borders, and even found in the hands of vulnerable youth.

With all of this happening just blocks from where thousands of people were celebrating long-term sobriety, I asked a few of them who were comfortable speaking publicly for their thoughts on how the government is handling addiction in British Columbia, and their advice for those in need of help.

Their answers do not represent Alcoholics Anonymous, which maintains a long-standing tradition of not engaging in politics or media, and does not accept government funding. What they offered instead were personal reflections, drawn from their own lived experience in recovery.