Episode 54: Get Sober or Get Dead
[Brandon blows out the candles at his second birthday party as his mom, Angie, looks on. (Source: Angie Staines)]
Alberta is the involuntary treatment capital of Canada. Since 2006, the province has encouraged parents to waive their children's rights and force them into detox as part of the Protection of Children Abusing Drugs Act. And in the coming months, Alberta will begin involuntarily detaining adults as well.
On episode 54, Crackdown producer Alex de Boer travels to Edmonton to meet Angie Staines and her son Brandon Shaw. When Brandon got wired as a young teen, Angie had a difficult choice to make: should she force Brandon to sober up? And what would happen to their relationship if she did?
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[18 year old new mom Angie, holds her baby, Brandon in the early 1990s. (Photo source: Angie Staines)]
[Brandon and his cat, Mando, in Brandon’s Edmonton home in February, 2025. (Photo by Alex de Boer)]
[Angie sits on her living room couch with two (of her three) dogs in February, 2025. (Photo by Alex de Boer)]
[Angie and Brandon on their way to do outreach in downtown Edmonton with 4B Harm Reduction Society in the winter of 2025. (Photo by Alex de Boer)]
Transcript
A complete transcript of this episode will be uploaded here when ready.
Works Cited
“Alberta medical students lobby to change approach to opioid crisis.” CBC News. April 14, 2023, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/opioid-alberta-medical-students-1.6810172.
Dodes, Lance. The sober truth: Debunking the bad science behind 12-step programs and the rehab industry. Beacon Press, 2014.
Friedman, Richard. “The Sober Truth.” The New York Times, May 5, 2014, https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/06/health/the-sober-truth-seeing-bad-science-in-rehab.html.
Godfrey, Dustin. “BC Involuntary Treatment Taking Place in a Solitary Confinement Unit.” Filter Magazine, May 16, 2025, https://filtermag.org/bc-involuntary-treatment-solitary-confinement/.
Heimer, Robert et al. “Receipt of opioid use disorder treatments prior to fatal overdoses and comparison to no treatment in Connecticut, 2016–17.” Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Volume 254, 2024, 111040, ISSN 0376-8716, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.111040.
“Into Focus: Calling Attention to Youth Opioid Use in Alberta.” Office of the Child and Youth Advocate Alberta. September 2018 (12-13), https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/6d96b786-1acf-41d1-85a5-3fc993b74ac5/resource/c992fe11-382f-428e-b90b-9bc6fa05d716/download/ah-response-to-ocya-report.pdf
Kaskutas, LA. “Alcoholics anonymous effectiveness: faith meets science.” J Addict Dis, 2009;28(2):145-57. doi: 10.1080/10550880902772464.
O'Brien, D & Hudson-Breen, R. ‘“Grasping at straws,” experiences of Canadian parents using involuntary stabilization for a youth's substance use.’ International Journal of Drug Policy. 117, (2023), DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.104055.
Peele, Stanton. “So Alcoholics Anonymous Is “Proven” to Work After All? Not So Fast.” Filter Magazine, March 18, 2020, https://filtermag.org/alcoholics-anonymous-cochrane/.
Rafful, C et al. “Increased non-fatal overdose risk associated with involuntary drug treatment in a longitudinal study with people who inject drugs.” Addiction. 2018 Jun;113(6):1056-1063. doi: 10.1111/add.14159.
“Renewed Focus: A Follow Up Report on Youth Opioid Use in Alberta.” Office of the Child and Youth Advocate Alberta. June 2021 (23-26), www.ocya.alberta.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/SpRpt2021June_Renewed-Focus.pdf
Szalavitz, Maia. “People Have a Right to Nonreligious Rehab.” The New York Times, March 11, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/11/opinion/faith-addiction-treatment.html.
Timko, Christine. “Long-term outcomes of alcohol use disorders: comparing untreated individuals with those in Alcoholics Anonymous and formal treatment.” Journal of Studies on Alcohol, August 2000, 61(4):529-40, DOI:10.15288/jsa.2000.61.529.
Thompson, Euan. “The Alberta Drug Model is a Christian institution: Part 1.” Drug Data Decoded, https://drugdatadecoded.ca/the-alberta-drug-model-is-a-christian/.
Thomspon, Euan, “What’s Wrong with Rehab?” Alberta Views, https://albertaviews.ca/whats-wrong-with-rehab-drug/
Tran, Cindy. “What does Alberta's controversial involuntary treatment legislation mean?” The Edmonton Journal, April 21, 2025, https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/alberta-addiction-involuntary-treatment-compassionate-intervention-act-explained.
Wakeman, SE et al. “Comparative Effectiveness of Different Treatment Pathways for Opioid Use Disorder.” JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(2):e1920622. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.20622.
Werb, D et al. “The effectiveness of compulsory drug treatment: A systematic review.” Int J Drug Policy. 2016 Feb;28:1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2015.12.005.
Wilson, Patty et al. “Safer supply and political interference in medical practice: Alberta's Narcotics Transition Services.” International Journal of Drug Policy. Volume 133,2024,104600,ISSN 0955-3959, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104600.
Credits
Our editorial board is Dean Wilson, Jeff Louden, Laura Shaver, Samona Marsh, Elli Taylor, Delilah Gregg, and Martin Steward. Rest in peace Shelda Kastor, Dave Murray, Greg Fresz and Chereece Keewatin.
This episode was conceptualized, written, and produced by Sam Fenn, Alex de Boer, Rebecca Haines-Saah and me, Garth Mullins.
Mix by Alex Kim.
Theme song by Sam Fenn and Garth Mullins. All other music by Blue Dot Sessions.
Our academic partner for this episode is Rebecca Haines-Saah.
Funding was provided by The Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Thank you so much to Angie and Brandon for sharing your story.
Big thank you to Euan Thompson for your time and expertise. And to Michelle Pelletier for your consultation work.
Thanks as well to Jenn McCrindle, David Lewry, Shanell Twan, Kinnon Ross, Anna Rasmussen, Alley Vee, Jennifer Jackson, Elaine Hyshka, and all the volunteers at 4B Harm Reduction.
Please consider donating to 4B Harm Reduction Society at www.4bhr.org/donate. Your donations buy food, clothing and harm reduction supplies for vulnerable people in Edmonton.
If you like what we do here at Crackdown, please support us at patreon.com/crackdownpod.
Thanks for listening. Stay safe and keep six.
