There is a support group in the States called The Addict’s Mom. I suppose I meet the criteria for membership - my daughter is one of thousands who have died of fentanyl poisoning during the current opioid crisis - but I would never feel comfortable joining an organisation with this name. My daughter dealt with addiction at times. Her drug use (illegal and prescribed) was enmeshed with her debilitating mental illness. I would never call her The Addict, nor would I identify myself as The Addict’s Mom. Would we disparagingly call someone The Diabetic? The Epileptic? The Lyme Diseased?

On April 14, 2016 British Columbia declared a public health emergency in response drug poisoning deaths. Since that time, the unregulated drug supply has become more toxic and more unpredictable.

And since that time, at least 11,000 people in British Columbia have died.