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Or sign-in if you have an account.World Cup fans are told to only use illicit drugs with a friend, to “start low, go slow” and to only use “one substance at a time.” Photo by Screenshot / vancouverfwc26.caFirst Reading is a Canadian politics newsletter curated by the National Post’s own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorIn a measure presumably followed by no other World Cup host city, Vancouver’s official FIFA guide contains tips instructing visitors on how to do illicit drugs.“The unregulated drug supply in Vancouver is unpredictable and may be more dangerous than what visitors are used to in other countries or regions,” it reads, before recommending that tourists carry anti-overdose medication with them at all times.“Carry naloxone and know how to use it,” it reads.This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againWorld Cup fans are also told to only use illicit drugs with a friend, to “start low, go slow” and to only use “one substance at a time.”Tourists are also encouraged to submit their cell phone numbers to the Province of B.C. so that they can receive public health alerts if a batch of illicit drugs turns out to be particularly potent.One such alert happened just this week after Vancouver Police reported a cluster of seven overdoses in the same region of East Vancouver.The drug advice is all contained on the official FIFA Vancouver website in a section called Know Before You Go.Amid tips about steering clear of fraudulent game tickets or running afoul of Canadian drone laws, visitors are offered “information on safer substance use and laws.”The section begins by instructing visitors that B.C. is in the midst of a “toxic drug public health emergency.”The term is favoured by B.C. public health authorities over terms like “overdose crisis,” as the latter implies that rampant illicit drug use is itself the problem.Rather, the government’s official stance is that the crisis is being caused by toxic contaminants and adulterants within illicit drugs that would otherwise be fine.As provincial health officer Bonnie Henry said in a recent statement, B.C.’s signature drug problem is a “highly toxic and unpredictable, unregulated drug supply.”Although the FIFA guide advises visitors that the “safest choice” is not to do illicit drugs in an unfamiliar city, the tips are provided in case “you do use.”All the while, Vancouver Police issued their own drug guide to FIFA tourists, although theirs encouraged visitors to keep their drug use within the law.“For questions about what drugs are allowed in Canada, see this list of controlled and illegal drugs,” it reads, alongside a link to a Government of Canada database of illicit drugs.No other host city with comparable drug problems to Vancouver included illicit drug tips in its FIFA guide.Among U.S. cities, San Francisco is second only to Baltimore in terms of fatal drug overdoses, with tent cities and fentanyl addicts similarly being a visible feature of the urban core.But fans reading San Francisco’s official FIFA guide will only encounter tips about local transportation options and where to find handicapped parking.As recently as February, public health officials in New York City were reporting that fatal overdoses were hitting all-time highs.Here again, the New York FIFA guide did not feel the need to mention any of this, including only information about accommodation and transportation, as well as marketing bluster. “From world-class entertainment to iconic landmarks and rich cultural experiences, this is more than a tournament, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime celebration,” it reads.Toronto, the other Canadian host city, also avoids any mention of how to do illicit drugs on its official FIFA website, which reads more like a tourism brochure. The only reference to illegal drugs is in a list of “prohibited items” allowed at sanctioned viewing sites.Vancouver is hosting seven matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, all of them at B.C. Place, a venue that’s only a 15-minute walk from the Downtown Eastside, long the core of the city’s drug addiction problem.With an estimated 350,000 visitors coming to the city for the matches, some of them have indeed been surprised at the city’s level of open-air drug use and street disorder. In a viral social media post from this week, two U.S. visitors in Vancouver for the World Cup praised the sushi and the “beautiful, beautiful stadium,” but said the aspect of the city they would remember most is the “drug zombies walking all over the place.”Just before World Cup visitors began arriving in the city, in fact, Global News broadcast a profile about how Destination Vancouver, the city’s official tourism marketer, was increasingly encountering visitors shocked at the extent of the city’s street disorder.“Street upon street of homeless people who were clearly under the influence of what was probably fentanyl and other drugs. Felt very, very unsafe, always looking over your shoulder, drugs openly being consumed,” read one visitor comment.“Really glad to leave this place and will not be going back, has put me off to going to any other city in Canada,” read another.A new Leger poll shows yet another massive lead for the Liberals. Perhaps more importantly, it shows that both the NDP and the Bloc Québécois remain at historic lows. In fact, if an election were held tomorrow with these numbers, both the NDP and the Bloc would simultaneously chart the worst results in their respective histories. Former Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper was prime minister for nine years despite poll numbers that were never all that different from what the Conservatives are posting now. But he benefited from a political mix in which Liberal support was continually sapped by strong support for third and fourth parties. (Leger)Prime Minister Mark Carney’s condo “bailout” has continued to attract new critics, including from developers themselves.It was almost a week ago that Carney, alongside B.C. Premier David Eby, announced a federal plan to buy up 2,200 vacant condos and turn them into “affordable housing.”Carney’s political critics on both the left and right immediately slammed the plan as a sop to developers, as builders will be receiving artificially inflated prices for units that are now worth considerably less given a recent drop in Vancouver condo prices.And Carney himself seemed to acknowledge this, saying his measure would save developers from having to sell “at a loss.”But the developers themselves are balking as well.The Urban Development Institute has been one of Canada’s main developer lobby groups since the 1970s.And in a Wednesday public letter their president Michael Drummond said he was “struggling” with a plan that ignores “fundamental economic barriers” to new development in favour of buying “2,200 unsold condos that are already built.”“No one in the development or allied sectors advocated for that. And with no details yet on eligibility, affordability, valuation, or project selection, the vacuum is filling with speculation that helps no one working to solve B.C.’s cost of delivery crisis,” he wrote.In a Thursday press conference, Carney suggested the whole problem was one of messaging.“I don’t think we’ve done, myself included, a particularly good job of rolling this out and explaining exactly what it is,” he said. Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.