Searching for Drug Peace is a raw, but careful conversation starter on the benefits of safe drug use and effective but still illegal methods of tackling the overdose crisis. Director Alisher Balfanbayev’s compelling and important documentary will reframe how people think about this highly political topic.

Amidst a deadly overdose crisis, Vancouver activist Dana Larsen defies the law by operating an illegal drug store that funds a drug-checking centre – risking everything to provide life-saving harm reduction and challenge the War on Drugs.

Everyone is going to have an opinion on the topic of Alisher Balfanbayev’s film Searching for Drug Peace, and each will have a wide variety of nuances to it. You could easily come out of this film starting with one opinion and having it changed after seeing the good that Dana Larsen and those around him are trying to do in Vancouver. The main question here is simple: are Larsen’s illegal endeavours causing more harm than good? Or better yet, have those in charge of our communities and country failed so categorically to tackle the drug overdose issue that it has forced the hand of those activists who feel they have no choice BUT to help those in need and to provide a safe haven for those who want to recreationally use soft and non-life-threatening drugs?

What we see with Dana Larsen and his Coca Leaf Café is a place for education, selling in safe quantities drugs that are not possible to overdose on, a place for addicts to have their drugs tested, to maybe even take lesser drugs to aid in their recovery from harder substances. Larsen is providing a place that the Government simply cannot in its current capacity. Not only does his illegal business help save lives, but it eases the financial burden on health and housing services, and it potentially even helps people get off the streets (which, if you have been on the East side of mainland Vancouver, you will know all about).

So, is this a case of maybe the right thing to do from the authorities is to turn a blind eye as they themselves work out a scheme that can benefit everyone involved? In this case, sadly, not yet. Larsen is subject to raids on the illegal products he sells, facility closures, and even the revocation of business licenses. But what remains clear is that you can see those in the Vancouver City Council who may not agree with his methods, but agree with the reasoning. Yet, they are at times overpowered by the numbers who, in this instance, cannot see the forest for the trees.

This is what makes Searching for Drug Peace an interesting documentary: while the film is based on Larsen’s efforts, it has a far broader scope that you become invested in over the 87-minute runtime. Balfanbeyev shows us the world in which people have been left to struggle on their own to make a difference, that it isn’t simply a one-man crusade; it just so happens that Larsen has the loudest voice, and there is no clearer example of that than Jerry Martin.

The focus on Jerry Martin is an interesting one. Here, we have a former addict who has lost a brother to drugs. Instead, he focuses on selling clean hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin,  thinking that if people are in fact going to do these types of drugs, they should at least remove one of the risks of having dirty drugs, so that they can stay alive. An issue Balfanbayev raises in Searching for Drug Peace is that they call Martin an entrepreneur, even though he admits he will most likely lose money (before the cops come) because he is giving too much away per sale. His activism is to make it safe for those who would most likely get the least pure versions of what they want and subsequently die. When comparing the two, his work is more closely aligned with activism, whereas, sadly, in Larsen’s case, it leans far more toward profit.

With Kelly Neighbour, we have someone who makes the point that if they were given a prescription of marijuana to help with their hip pain instead of OxyContin. He would not have had an addiction and would perhaps be merely microdosing. This point is brought home by an addiction counsellor who says they see everyone from all walks of life get their microdoses from Larsen and how that probably alone saves countless lives. This is where Searching for Drug Peace really shines, showing how the concept of a soft drug store does endless good to those who have addictions and in a city like Vancouver, it is practically a necessity. 

The test your drugs program that he runs is such an essential requirement that you wonder why on earth the Government would shut it down when they do not have a version of it readily available themselves. If they were so keen to stop overdoses, etc., such programs would be instigated so that people like Dana would not have to risk their business and extra costs to keep people alive. Again, this is the strength of the documentary: when it focuses on the actions of Larsen and his staff and those like them, rather than on the person explicitly, it becomes a fascinating watch.

Search for Drug Peace could perhaps be trimmed a little more, and while you understand why we are seeing some of the more mundane interactions in the café or when Larsen is out and about, they aren’t wholly necessary to the narrative being put forward. We see that he is building this community to help as many as he can, yet scenes like people interacting about resumes are not entirely necessary.

The strongest opposition that Balfanbayev gives us is from Dr Kevin Sabet, who mentions that he has no issues with people using recreationally. Still, his fear is that there are vultures out there who would only open stores like Larsen’s for profit, to capitalise on those who need help, and then that would cause a horrible rabbit hole for those already struggling with addiction. He has a very fair point, and it is excellent that it is mentioned. Yet the issue of waiting for the solution remains.

While it is clear that Dana Larsen runs his businesses primarily to help those with drug addictions, such as the Test Your Drugs outlets, and to provide microdoses to help wean people off harder drugs. There would certainly be others who would be there solely to take advantage, and Sabet isn’t saying an immediate no to what Larsen is doing, but rather saying to wait until proper research can be carried out. The obvious issue with Sabet’s thought process, however, is that the longer you wait, the more that will die, and we see that in heartbreaking fashion with one of the subjects in the Searching for Drug Peace.

It is smart for Balfanbayev to present opposing views on the matter. Still, perhaps there could have been a way to introduce stronger ones, as, other than Sabet, the rest of the opposition never provides a reasonable excuse for businesses like Larsen’s not to exist, especially when the national and local governments are moving so slowly to tackle an increasingly dire issue. But perhaps that’s the point of the film: that, other than wanting to do this the right, but slow, way, the opposition is at a loss and just throws in long-outdated moral and ethical reasoning.

Searching for Drug Peace is an excellent documentary. While it perhaps gives activist Dana Larsen a bit too much time to monologue his feelings and to show less of the benefits of his business and efforts to the Vancouver communities, it remains a raw observation of the struggles those on the ground experience in trying to keep up with a seemingly never-ending crisis.

★★★★

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