UBC’s Harm Reduction Coalition held its first event on October 25 ahead of Halloween weekend to educate the student community on safe drug use.
Students, staff, faculty and community members could speak to different groups of the coalition and find resources and more information on harm reduction.
The UBC Harm Reduction Coalition is a collective of eight on-campus drug use harm-reduction. The coalition is made up of the Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy (CSSDP), UBC Psychedelic Society, AMS Sexual Assault Support Centre, AMS Peer Support, UBC Student Recovery Community, UBC Social Justice Centre, the FentaNIL Project, and Law Students for Decrim.
Free fentanyl testing strips and naloxone kits and training were provided the Social Justice Centre. The coalition also advertised two drug testing services available for the community: Get Your Drugs Tested (GYDT) and the Hein Lab, run by UBC’s department of chemistry.
One of the volunteers, Caitlin Doherty, a support and advocacy coordinator for the AMS Sexual Assault Support Centre (SASC), spoke about the significance of the coalition and the fair.
“There are so many groups that are doing really great harm reduction work, providing the supplies, providing the education and the coalition has really brought all of us together, and the fair has made us so much more visible,” she said.
Thea Sheridan-Jonah, chair of the Vancouver chapter of the Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy (CSSDP), said the idea behind the coalition came from shared issues and concerns surrounding accessibility and awareness of harm reduction initiatives in the UBC community.
Sheridan-Jonah said “we saw a gap, we saw a need, and all of our organizations are already here.”
Kailey Baxstrome, president of the UBC Psychedelic Society, spoke about the importance of making resources visible and putting safety first.
She said the fair "is what students need, they need to see the options they have available and that safety should always be a priority.”
Last year, UBC and the AMS began to roll out various harm reduction measures to promote drug safety on campus. A number of substance testing events were similarly hosted by the Social Justice Centre to encourage and help students make informed decisions around their usage.
Earlier this year, the government of British Columbia rolled out a 3-year pilot project to decriminalize small amounts drug possession. The pilot is running until January 31, 2026 and is part of a larger effort to reduce the stigma around substance use and to combat the province’s drug crisis by encouraging access to life-saving support and services.
Community members can find more information on harm reduction efforts and resources on the UBC Student Services website.
Sheridan-Jonah emphasized the importance of choice when it comes to substance use.
“No matter what you choose to do is your way to celebrate Halloween. You have autonomy. You get to choose what your relationship with use of substance works best for you.”