In issue #96, Megaphone offers our own take on the failing "war on drugs" with an in-depth look at the history of drug use in the Downtown Eastside. Did you know there's a connection between Chinatown's opium dens and former prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King? That harm reduction was first proposed in the 1950s? There's more to drug user activism and support than Insite, and in this issue we touch on it all to show how far we've come in 100 years--and how far we have left to go.

Everyone who went to school in Canada knows about the Group of Seven, but we remind you it wasn't all paint, praise, and poses for the artists, particularly Frederick Horsman Varley, whose story is featured in this issue. His tale of alcohol, depression, and poverty is one familiar to some of the members of another Group of Seven: the original seven Vancouver street paper vendors, who we pay homage to for their decades of work on the streets.

Also in this issue, we take a look at the DTES' Local Area Planning Process, wax poetic with David Suzuki on what is so radical about peace, love, and a cleaner environment, feature moving poetry from our writers' workshops, and more. Support your local vendor and pick up a copy today!