Meet the 'hit doctor,' assisting drug users across Vancouver episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 8, 2026 · 24 MIN

Meet the 'hit doctor,' assisting drug users across Vancouver

from The Current

For 10 years now, B.C.’s drug crisis has been a public health emergency. And over that time, we’ve brought you many stories, but this is one you will not have heard before. It’s rooted in the understanding that the vast majority of the drug-related deaths aren’t occurring in Vancouver’s notorious Downtown Eastside, but rather among men, alone at home. In his documentary, Radio-Canada’s Francis Plourde brings us on an unusual tour, meeting drug users trying to stay safe by relying on a man they’ve come to know as their “doctor.”

For 10 years now, B.C.’s drug crisis has been a public health emergency. And over that time, we’ve brought you many stories, but this is one you will not have heard before. It’s rooted in the understanding that the vast majority of the drug-related deaths aren’t occurring in Vancouver’s notorious Downtown Eastside, but rather among men, alone at home. In his documentary, Radio-Canada’s Francis Plourde brings us on an unusual tour, meeting drug users trying to stay safe by relying on a man they’ve come to know as their “doctor.”

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Meet the 'hit doctor,' assisting drug users across Vancouver

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This episode was published on June 8, 2026.

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For 10 years now, B.C.’s drug crisis has been a public health emergency. And over that time, we’ve brought you many stories, but this is one you will not have heard before. It’s rooted in the understanding that the vast majority of the drug-related...

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