The Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users or VANDU is a
not-for-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
organization
and advocacy group based in
Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada. The group believes that all drug users should have their own
rights and
freedoms. The group's members have been actively involved in lobbying for support of
Insite, North America's first
safe injection site
Supervised injection sites (SIS) are medically supervised facilities designed to provide a hygienic environment in which people are able to consume illicit recreational drugs intravenously and prevent deaths due to drug overdoses. The legality ...
, located in the
Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.
Its board of directors consists entirely of current and former drug addicts. It was co-founded by Ann Livingston and
Bud Osborn.
Livingston had previously established a short-lived injection site called "Back Alley" on Powell Street in 1995.
The group received a grant in 2022 from the city to perform street cleaning, but the contract was rescinded for not performing the work and instead, using the grant funds for other purposes.
Background
VANDU was created in September 1997, to advocate for the delivery of health care services to drug users living in Vancouver who had been exposed to increasing rates of
hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, a ...
and
HIV as a result of sharing needles,
and to address risks to their health, such as
drug overdose
A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended. .
It has operated an unauthorized drug consumption site and provided assisted illegal drug use for about four years until it was shut down in 2014.
A few dozen people first met in
Oppenheimer Park on 9 September 1997 in response to messages posted by Livingston on
utility poles throughout the Downtown Eastside.
The assembled group of people decided to form an organization, and adopted the name Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users a year later.
One of the attendees was Donald MacPherson, who later became drug-policy coordinator for Vancouver municipal government, and who also established the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition.
Membership grew to about 100 individuals in a few months, and eventually to over 2,000.
The organization's membership is open to all individuals, but those elected to the
board of directors must be current or former addicts, and votes at the organization's meetings may only be cast by current or former addicts.
City of Vancouver grant misdirection
VANDU was given a $320,000 grant from the City of Vancouver in 2022 to provide street cleaning services in the Hastings Street encampment. Questions were raised when VANDU couldn't be seen working and street cleanliness continued to deteriorate. The organization eventually admitted to diverting grant intended for street cleaning into its general funds. $160,000 of the grant was paid out, however the City of Vancouver terminated the contract when services were not delivered as expected. The city council voted to deny VANDU a $7,500 grant for arts program in 2023 for the gross misuse of public funds in 2022 making it the only grant out of 84 grants recommended by city staff to be denied by city council.
Actions and services
The organization also engages in local issues pertaining to
Downtown Eastside area residents.
VANDU defends
harm reduction services and
supervised injection facilities
Supervised injection sites (SIS) are medically supervised facilities designed to provide a hygienic environment in which people are able to consume illicit recreational drugs intravenously and prevent deaths due to drug overdoses. The legality o ...
. In recent years, VANDU has been engaging with the Drug Users Liberation Front (DULF) to provide "
safe supply" services.
The group handed out cocaine, meth and heroin to users in July 2021 in which city councilor
Jean Swanson participated in the distribution.
''
Washington Examiner'' said it's uncertain if substances distributed by VANDU was obtained lawfully.
References
Further reading
*
External links
VANDU- Official website
{{Authority control
Addiction medicine
Addiction organizations in Canada
Downtown Eastside
Drug culture
Drug policy organizations
Drug-related deaths
Drug safety
Early warning systems
Harm reduction
Organizations based in Vancouver
Organizations established in 1997
Vulnerable adults
Substance intoxication
Substance abuse counselors