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Ontario Human Rights Commission: Black people bear a disproportionate burden of law enforcement

Dennis Boyd | January 31, 2021

The outcome of drug prohibition and criminalization has disproportionately impacted Black communities in Canada. A recent Ontario Human Right’s Commission report found that although Black people make up only 8.8% of the population in Toronto, they represented almost 32% of people charged. This is true also in the case of drug-related charges, from the report: […]

Young men raising their clenched fists and protesting with a red, yellow, and green overlay.

Watch: The War on Drugs is Racist to the Core (Vice)

Dennis Boyd | January 31, 2021

From Vice: In the US, African-Americans are incarcerated at five times the rate of white people – with over half sentenced for drug crimes. This is not a bug of the War on Drugs, it’s a feature. Since their earliest beginnings, drug laws have been explicitly built around targeting ethnic minorities. We trace this horrifying […]

A view of Toronto city with the CN tower in the centre and a red, yellow, and green overlay.

Racism and Canadian Drug Policy (Harm Reduction TO)

Dennis Boyd | January 31, 2021

Much of the information available online about the War on Drugs and it’s disproportionate impact on Black communities is in regards to the United States, however Canada too has a troubling history of it’s own War on Drugs with origins rooted in racism. Harm Reduction TO outlines the Canadian history of racist drug policy on […]

Paula Santiago: A Harm Reduction Trailblazer (Drug Policy Alliance)

Dennis Boyd | January 31, 2021

Writing for the Drug Policy Alliance’s blog in 2016, policy associate Kristen May writes on the legacy of Black-latino Harm Reduction and HIV support trailblazer Paula Santiago. In 1987, Paula formed New York City’s first HIV-positive support group for homeless youth as an organizer with Streetworks, a drop-in center for homeless youth on the Lower […]

Racially Coded Language Hurts Everyone who Struggles with Addiction (Drug Policy Alliance)

Dennis Boyd | January 31, 2021

In 2014, the New York Times ran an article titled Addicted on Staten Island which stated, among other things, that “across the country, one of the most significant social shifts of the 21st century has been the migration of drug use from centers of urban poverty to places that are suburban, white and middle- or […]

“Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did”

Dennis Boyd | January 30, 2021

In 2016, Dan Baum who wrote 1996’s “Smoke and Mirrors: The War on Drugs and the Politics of Failure,” wrote for Harpers Magazine giving some more insight into one particularly relevant interview he had conducted while researching his book. Baum spoke with John Ehrlichman, an aide in Nixon’s White House who was convicted in the […]

The Racist Origins of Drug Prohibition

Dennis Boyd | January 30, 2021

Drug use for medicinal, recreational and spiritual purposes has been happening around the world for all of recorded history, and has been present in North America’s settler culture since colonization began. The prohibition of certain substances and the criminalization of possession and use are relatively recent developments in global history, and the impact of these […]

World Suicide Prevention Day

Dennis Boyd | September 11, 2020

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day, a day to raise awareness and commit to action to do our part to prevent suicide in our communities. Members of The AIDS Network Staff have been trained in safeTALK suicide intervention and prevention skills, and we are committed to doing our part to prevent suicide. If you are […]

Thank You VA By Vanshika Ahuja

Dennis Boyd | July 31, 2020

Our sincerest thanks to VA by Vanshika Ahuja for your incredibly generous donation of 300 masks towards our Mask Drive. VA is an Indian fashion brand that has sent us some lovely classy masks in neutral prints, something the folks we help have been asking for! Thanks to this generous gift, we have now raised […]

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Testing in Haldimand & Norfolk

Dennis Boyd | June 17, 2020

The Haldimand Norfolk Health Unit no longer offers HIV testing or STI screening at their locations, and testing is done through regional Family Health teams. These offices do testing by appointment only, but do offer anonymous HIV. Family Health Teams that offer STI Screening and HIV Testing: Norfolk Family Health TeamDelhi Community Health Cente, […]