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Watch ‘Love in the Time of Fentanyl,’ a Film About Life-Saving Drug Users

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17.03.2026

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Watch ‘Love in the Time of Fentanyl,’ a Film About Life-Saving Drug Users

Directed by Colin Askey, and executive-produced by Sean Baker (Anora, The Florida Project), the documentary offers an intimate glimpse of the opioid crisis.

By Adam Christopher Smith

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At the height of the fentanyl overdose crisis, Canadian drug users started taking it upon themselves to try to save lives. 

Documentary maker Colin Askey followed the misfits, artists, and addicts running the Overdose Prevention Society, a renegade safe-injection site in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The resulting film, Love in the Time of Fentanyl, shows them testing drugs, providing clean needles, and giving Narcan and oxygen during harrowing OD scenes.

Executive-produced by Oscar-winning director Sean Baker (Anora, The Florida Project) and streaming now at VICE’s YouTube channel, the film reveals the courage and compassion of those fighting to literally keep their community alive.

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Askey spent ten years working in the neighborhood, which is often referred to as “ground zero of the overdose crisis.” The Canadian director’s film paints an intimate picture of a caring, tight-knit community, which aims to challenge some of the stigma associated with drug use. 

You can watch it here:

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