Our presenters include the incredible Caitlin Shane, staff lawyer at Pivot Legal Society and Corey Ranger, President of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association.

See you there!

In a majority decision delivered on October 24th, 2025, the Supreme Court of Canada recognized the importance of clear, transparent laws, ruling that the Act must ensure that people who call 9-1-1 during an overdose will not face arrest for simple drug possession.

The Court confirmed that people who call 9‑1‑1 during an overdose will not face arrest for simple drug possession — a critical clarification during Canada’s ongoing toxic drug crisis.

Read the press release: drugpolicy.ca/supreme-cour...

As DJ Larkin of @candrugpolicy.bsky.social notes

“Importantly, this decision emphasized the need to focus on actual harms – possible injury or death, rather than remote or hypothetical assumptions that arrests increase public safety in these situations.”

The decision in R v. Wilson clarifies that the Good Samaritan Law must be read broadly—its purpose is to save lives, not punish. People helping respond to drug poisonings should not face criminalization for doing the right thing.

“As health care providers, we see the consequences when people delay calling 9-1-1—brain injuries, trauma, and deaths that could have been prevented,” says our President, Corey Ranger. “We are relieved and happy…The court has recognized these harms, and the importance in preventing them.”