Vancouver police raid drug activists’ office, homes; 2 arrested

Vancouver Police officers have raided the offices of the Drug User Liberation Fund (DULF), a community-based advocacy group the VPD claims has “publicly admitted to trafficking controlled substances.”

According to police, the department “executed multiple search warrants as part of an ongoing investigation” into the organization’s operations.

The raids come after DULF was questioned about how it had been paying to buy and test drugs for its members as part of its compassion club program.

“We understand the magnitude of the ongoing overdose crisis and the impact drug toxicity deaths have in communities throughout the province,” said Insp. Phil Heard, commanding officer of VPD’s Organized Crime Section.

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

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth was asked about the raid Thursday, and said the province stopped funding the group this past month after the concerns about drug purchasing were raised.

He says didn’t and wouldn’t direct police action to investigate the group but supports it.

“Particularly in this case, the contract was for the testing of drugs, not for purchasing of illegal drugs, and the police had investigated and made some arrests,” Farnworth said.

“People who engage in breaking the law can expect there to be consequences. As police have said, they support progressive policies. They recognize the toxic drug crisis. But, at the same time, people who engage in illegal activity — particularly in this case, the contract was for the testing of drugs, not for purchasing of illegal drugs.”

Despite the controversy, Farnworth says the issue doesn’t speak to needing more oversight.

“Agencies that are given contracts must follow the law. When a health authority gives a contract, they have to ensure and monitor that the law is being followed. And, in this case, when it became clear that they weren’t doing that, the contract was cancelled and police were investigating. Arrests were made and warrants were issued,” he explained.

DULF has refuted claims that it had been using funds from the BC Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) to pay for its compassion club program.

“All funds that we use to buy illicit narcotics come from crowdsourced funding,” DULF Co-Founder Eris Nyx told CityNews in September.

“Our program which sells tested, regulated narcotics – is one of the few successful responses to drug toxicity deaths in our community,” she added. “Public funding from Vancouver Coastal Health is used on the development, implementation, and delivery of drug checking services, training, overdose prevention recognition and response, and harm reduction equipment.”

DULF’s findings after a review also suggested that its members have reduced drug use, overdose risk, buying from the black market, and no one has died.

Drug policy analyst Karen Ward says losing the group will hurt the people it served.

“I’m very concerned about the folks who are involved in it because – what are they going to do? Where are they going to find some other source? Their tolerance is going to be different – that makes them very susceptible to overdose risk,” she said.

However, Ward tells CityNews she believes similar projects will the holes DULF left behind someday.

“What DULF is showing us is that there’s something in the future that we can build towards and this is a model that actually should [live] in any community, in every community, in every sub-community,” she said.

“This is something we can do. It’s possible to live beyond prohibition, we can imagine what that future looks like, and that’s thanks to DULF”

In addition to the search of DULF’s office, the VPD says its officers also searched two East Vancouver homes on Wednesday as part of its wider investigation. Two people were arrested in connection with those efforts, with the VPD saying it “will consider criminal charges when the investigation is complete.”

“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,” added Heard. “Anyone who ignores the law or fails to obtain proper legal exemptions should expect to be the subject of enforcement action.”

According to Vancouver Coastal Health, DULF received $200,000 in public funding in 2021 and 2022.