Crackdown

Episode 24: If It Wasn’t Drugs It Would Be Something Else

Crackdown

Show Notes

On Episode 24, Garth talks with the best-selling writer and activist Desmond Cole about how police use Canada’s drug war as a pretext for violence against Black communities. Garth and Desmond also discuss the relationship between the movement to decriminalize drugs and the movement to defund and abolish the police.

More from Crackdown

Oct 15, 2026

A big legal win for DULF means a defeat for the drug war: all charges have been dropped against our comrades, Jeremy and Eris. Meanwhile, election time in BC & Ontario means more fearmongering & scapegoating of drug users.

Sep 4, 2026

Cops kill people. They hurt people. They sexually assault people. And when they do, there’s a whole system that’s supposed to hold them accountable, but it barely works. On Episode 58, Garth and Sam dig into Canada’s rotten history of police accountability—and ask whether the system is failing, or doing exactly what it was built to do.

Jul 22, 2026

Description

Jan 30, 2026

It’s been almost six years since the launch of BC’s tiny safe supply program; also known as “prescribed alternatives.” Although the evidence that safe supply saves lives hasn’t changed, the political favourability of BC’s program has.

Jul 1, 2025

With fascism on the rise around the world, we explore the relationship between Canada’s housing and policing policies and the risk of far right authoritarianism at home.

See all episodes →