Reclusive Canadian audiophile, poetic naturalist, veteran drug policy reform activist, library cataloguer, programmer and webmaster. Born to be mild. https://elrod.ca/matt/ https://www.chess.com/member/melrod42 https://lichess.org/@/Grasshopper62https://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mwod4gffgs2b"The judge said the compassion club reduced the harms associated with the toxic drug crisis and did not negatively impact the community or public safety." https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-supreme-court-ruling-dulf-constitutional-challenge-9.736227429 Sep 2026 17:11 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwod4gffgs2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mwoagezq4s2bReconsidering the Alberta study of the closure of the Red Deer supervised consumption site "... numerous methodological shortcomings, which appear to raise legitimate questions regarding the validity of the study’s causal and policy interpretation." https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S095539592600356729 Sep 2026 16:23 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwoagezq4s2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mwlqbmmkpk2yHuman behavioral pharmacology of cannabis: Insights on cannabis use disorder https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S009174352600169628 Sep 2026 16:28 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwlqbmmkpk2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mwe4wviklk26"Safer smoking supply distribution enhances engagement by creating consistent, low-barrier points of contact and often serves as a critical entryway to care." https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-10670575/v125 Sep 2026 15:54 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwe4wviklk26https://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mwe23n7u6s2m"If harm-reduction policies themselves are driving higher overdose mortality, we should expect the same pattern elsewhere. But we don’t see that." https://reason.org/commentary/dont-blame-harm-reduction-policies-for-americas-overdose-crisis/25 Sep 2026 15:03 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwe23n7u6s2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mw2cg4gdds2n"Although Trump recently claimed the bombings had stopped 97% of all illegal drugs entering the US by sea, according to available data, the attacks have had no impact on the volume of cocaine entering the US." https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/21/us-boat-strikes-crime-against-humanity21 Sep 2026 18:05 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw2cg4gdds2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mw22gdzgak2e"... 146 policy actions ... primarily in 3 domains: treatment and recovery (n = 51 (35%)), overdose prevention services (n = 26 (18%)), and social stabilization (n = 21 (14%)). Most actions (n = 85, 58%) have not yet undergone evaluations of ... effectiveness." https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095539592600362221 Sep 2026 15:42 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw22gdzgak2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mvihsjpl3c2vCanadian news media reporting on involuntary substance use treatment and its evidence, 2020–2025 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095539592600339714 Sep 2026 15:53 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvihsjpl3c2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mulmrmxee22xSupervised consumption service use and high-frequency public injecting among people who inject drugs in Toronto "Recent supervised consumption service use, reported by 87% of participants, was associated with a lower prevalence of high-frequency public injecting overall ..." https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095539592600326903 Sep 2026 04:35 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mulmrmxee22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mtw3mg4lbk2f"There is a place for involuntary intervention in genuine emergencies, particularly when someone is experiencing severe mental illness and cannot keep themself safe. But we should be extremely careful about turning an exceptional tool into our addiction strategy." https://www.sitkamedia.ca/felicella-involuntary-care-another-buzzword-that-wont-solve-the-toxic-drug-crisis/25 Aug 2026 15:02 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtw3mg4lbk2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mtcnv3lqm22u"Vague questions with predictable answers" https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2026/08/17/Public-Safety-Serious-Issue-Sim-Plebiscite-Unserious/17 Aug 2026 21:36 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtcnv3lqm22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mst6czojbs2c https://drugdatadecoded.ca/how-health-canada-buried-the-safe-supply-expert-reviews-amid-a-manufactured-moral-panic-2/11 Aug 2026 17:47 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mst6czojbs2chttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3msemk6y3ys2r"The memo said the city plans to keep working on fulfilling the recommendations and align with the provincial government’s recovery strategy." https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-city-overdose-deaths-response-9.729641305 Aug 2026 22:52 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3msemk6y3ys2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mrxebq76zk2g https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-blanket-involuntary-treatment-b-c-supreme-court-9.729168231 Jul 2026 16:19 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrxebq76zk2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mpzimvy5qk2b"While the data doesn’t show what’s behind the increases, researchers, health-care workers and advocates suggest the toxic drug supply and the closure of supervised consumption sites (SCS) in the past two years may be factors." https://www.cbc.ca/news/investigates/ontario-paramedic-non-fatal-overdose-calls-rise-data-analysis-9.725823707 Jul 2026 01:52 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpzimvy5qk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mpotjcujqs2t"Overall, our results indicate that CBD reduces anxiety-like and depressive-like behaviors and improves cognitive performance across a variety of preclinical models." https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-026-03733-x02 Jul 2026 20:08 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpotjcujqs2thttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mpot6oy6rs2z https://cheknews.ca/victoria-motion-to-close-safe-consumption-site-defeated-7-1-1333838/02 Jul 2026 20:02 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpot6oy6rs2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mpmfo3r6hs2u"... the increasing use of cannabis could be beneficial to road safety to the extent that its recreational use replaced some of the recreational use of alcohol, and its medicinal use replaced some of the medicinal use of opioids or benzodiazepines." https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095539592600258601 Jul 2026 20:55 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpmfo3r6hs2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mp52ygs7m22x"When we displace people from one street to another without housing or treatment, we are not creating recovery — we are creating instability, and instability is the enemy of recovery." https://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/comment-the-real-cost-of-displacement-and-recriminalization-1246862925 Jun 2026 18:34 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp52ygs7m22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3movbrwypls2i"On top of its smaller decline last year, EMS responses to suspected opioid-related overdoses jumped up roughly 65 per cent in Alberta last year, while both Ontario and B.C reported fewer EMS responses." https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/opioid-toxicity-deaths-trend-alberta-9.724280722 Jun 2026 16:14 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3movbrwypls2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mnabn55tuc2i https://www.timescolonist.com/islander/roads-to-recovery-why-arent-we-studying-what-works-in-addiction-treatment-1233919601 Jun 2026 14:20 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnabn55tuc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mltphjdtxc2g"In many ways it’s not entirely surprising that those trying to deflect responsibility for their own policy failures have resorted to outlandish claims and bogus reports in an effort [to] limit [or] close OPS operations." https://vancouversun.com/opinion/op-ed/opinion-time-to-stop-scapegoating-overdose-prevention-sites14 May 2026 20:58 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mltphjdtxc2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mle76vc4xc2i https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/05/08/Can-City-Block-Harm-Reduction-Site/08 May 2026 16:57 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mle76vc4xc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3ml74hoo56s2y https://theintercept.com/2026/05/04/trump-boat-strikes-fentanyl-cocaine-drug-supply/06 May 2026 16:25 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml74hoo56s2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mknhf3rjx227"A recent Washington Post column by Charles Fain Lehman and Kevin Sabet claims that current data prove safe drug sites do not save lives. But that is not what the data say." https://www.acsh.org/news/2026/04/29/safe-drug-sites-havent-failed-federal-policy-has-5008229 Apr 2026 15:52 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mknhf3rjx227https://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mklqwev6wk2n"Charles Fain Lehman and Kevin A. Sabet’s April 21 op-ed, “‘Safe drug sites’ don’t work. The data proves it.,” asserted that a “large body of research” has found no effect of these sites on overdose risk." https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/04/28/safe-drug-sites-work-our-data-proves-it/28 Apr 2026 23:37 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mklqwev6wk2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mjrqluv6zs2z"The emergence of dangerous synthetic drugs like fentanyl has nothing to do with progressivism or harm reduction." https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/opinion/san-francisco-addiction-homeless.html18 Apr 2026 15:22 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjrqluv6zs2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/mattelrod.bsky.social/post/3mjplmjsmrc2t"This pattern is by now familiar. Subjective diagnostic criteria and financial incentives that reward diagnosis have repeatedly produced policy responses that were disproportionate, costly, and harmful. The social media addiction debate is following the same trajectory." https://www.cato.org/blog/case-against-social-media-addiction17 Apr 2026 18:48 +0000at://did:plc:3k2barv5av7k6fcetzaplazk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjplmjsmrc2t