As editors it's impossible not to feel the weight of the opioid crisis that has gripped so many parts of Canada. While the roots of this epidemic reach back many years to when OxyContin flooded our cities and towns, 2016 has brought daily headlines about staggering overdoses, monumental drugs busts and lives lost. VICE.com and VICE News have been on the frontlines of this coverage since the beginning. From the documentary Dopesick, our incredibly personal, devastating look at the lives of young people addicted to fentanyl, to our investigations into the troubling lack of Naloxone in Ontario pharmacies, the unregulated chaos of private rehab facilities, and the international drug pipeline breaking through our border, we've been dedicated to showing the reality and the humanity behind the opioid crisis. And recognizing that humanity is why we're spending the next week peeling back the layers of this epidemic and hearing from the people at the centre of the storm. From epidemiologists committed to changing our failing strategies on drug prohibition, to frontline workers in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and finally to the users themselves, so often misrepresented and ignored; Relapse: Facing Canada's Opioid Crisis is our opportunity to listen to those most affected and continue the conversation as we make our way towards recovery.Full Schedule for Relapse: Facing Canada's Opioid CrisisMonday: How North America Found Itself in the Grips of an Opioid CrisisTuesday: How We Can Solve the Opioid CrisisWednesday: Keeping the Downtown Eastside AliveThursday: The Never-Ending Cycle of Waiting for Drug Rehab in CanadaFriday: Portrait of a Crisis
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