In our most recent episode, our hosts are joined by Dr. Hakique Virani, an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Alberta and a specialist in public health and addictions, for part one of a two-episode discussion about Alberta’s escalating opioid crisis. Dr. Virani notes that opioid overdose deaths have become a “new normal” in Alberta, and explains how the increase in opioid overdose deaths has been exacerbated by the pandemic. He explores the importance of supervised consumption sites in saving lives and how reducing those services at a time when we should be expanding them defies logic. He also discusses the inherent racism in current drug laws and the justice and human rights issues that must be addressed in conversations about decriminalization.