Promoting pedagogical ‘safe supply’ in response to Canada’s toxic-drug-poisoning crisis: a commentary on substance use education in social work curricula and the ‘toxic’ nature of Canada’s current drug supply

North America has witnessed an unprecedented level of devastation wrought by the toxic-drug-poisoning crisis – otherwise referred to as the ‘opioid’ or ‘overdose’ epidemic – with Canada witnessing over 47,000 fatalities from January 2016 to March 2024. Structured by a series of propositions, this article critically interrogates the conspicuous under-representation of harm reduction and substance use education in social work curricula across Canada, a country that has similarly seen skyrocketing mortality rates resulting from the displacement of heroin with incredibly strong and dangerous synthetic opioid analogues like fentanyl. Given the crucial role that social workers could play in ameliorating the impact of Canada’s toxic, tainted drug supply, this commentary thus asserts that in light of current conditions, it is imperative for social work regulatory bodies – namely, the national Canadian Association of Social Workers – to begin explicitly embracing and promoting the principles of harm reduction in an effort to better equip social workers for direct, equitable engagement with people who use drugs.