Drug & opioid recovery · Canada
It was never about which drug.
Pills, powder, whatever was around — the drug keeps changing and the problem stays the same. Start here. No name, no email, no lecture.
Tell us once. A navigator confirms what fits — OAT-friendly where you need it, funding checked — and makes one introduction, only when you say yes. Free.
Free · no obligation · you approve every step · a real person within one business day
No email · nothing stored · runs on this page. In crisis? Call or text 988, any hour.
Two minutes · no name, no email
Is it a problem? Check against the criteria doctors use.
Eleven yes/no questions, mapped to the clinical criteria (DSM-5) used across Canada. Substance-agnostic — it works whatever you're using.
- Answers stay on this device
- Honest result, plain language
- Next steps either way
- Independent — not a treatment centre
- Every fact sourced and dated
- Licensed providers only
- A real person within one business day
- 988 first, always
Tell us once — we do the calling
What actually happens when you reach out
A real person reads it.
Who answers: a navigator with lived or professional recovery experience — not a bot, not a call centre. Usually within one business day.
Then up to three options that fit — OAT-friendly where you need it, free where it exists.
Public, subsidized, or private, labelled honestly, so nothing is a surprise partway through. Not sure what you can fund? Check coverage first.Is treatment covered? →
One warm introduction — only when you say yes.
We hand your request to the intake team you approve. Nobody else.
If the honest answer is the free public route, we say so.
And send you there instead of forcing a fit. That is the whole point of being independent.
What it costs you: nothing — ever. Matched licensed providers fund the service with flat marketing fees for introductions, never per-admission, so our only incentive is the right fit. In a crisis, skip all of this: call or text 988.
Our promises
So you don't have to take our word for it.
You approve every introduction.Nothing moves without your yes. We never pass your details to anyone you haven't agreed to.
One word ends it.Reply STOP to any message and it's the last you hear from us — no follow-up, no drip, no calls.
Never sold to data brokers or advertisers.Your details go to the matched licensed providers you approve, to answer you — that's it. Deleted once no longer needed.
No fit? We tell you.If nothing we know of genuinely fits, we say so and point you to the free public route instead of forcing one.
Crisis first, always.If you're in danger we get out of the way: 988, any hour. Drug-Free Recovery is not an emergency service.
Free, no real name needed
The First 72 Hours — the full guide
Scripts, checklists and the exact next steps — sent to your inbox, kept nowhere else.
Before anything else
Carry naloxone. Free at most pharmacies, no prescription, no questions.
Naloxone reverses an opioid overdose long enough for help to arrive. If you use — or anyone around you does — a kit in your bag matters more than anything else on this page. Ask at the pharmacy counter; in most provinces they hand it over and show you how in five minutes.
Using alone? NORS (1-888-688-6677) stays on the phone with you and calls help if you stop responding.
No email, no account, nothing stored
Read every guide and take the self-check without giving a name or an address. The self-check runs entirely in your browser — your answers never leave the page, and nothing is sent anywhere unless you ask us to connect you.
The pattern, not the product
Plain-language help written against the criteria clinicians actually use — substance-agnostic, because swapping one drug for another never holds. We name the pattern for what it is and show the next small step, without scare tactics.
A door in every province — much of it free
Publicly funded withdrawal management, counselling, and opioid-agonist therapy exist in every province. When you want a person, we make one warm introduction — with your consent, and only to someone you approve.
Two honest minutes
Same questions medicine asks. Plainer words.
Eleven plain-language questions, one for each criterion clinicians use for substance use disorder (DSM-5), asked about the last twelve months. Substance-agnostic — answer for whatever you use most. No email, nothing stored, and it never leaves your browser.
Take the self-check →The bands, plainly:
- 0–1 of 11below the clinical line
- 2–3 of 11mild — early, and cheapest to act on
- 4–5 of 11moderate — past what promises fix
- 6+ of 11severe — please don't carry it alone
Only a professional assessment can diagnose.
The question asked constantly, answered nowhere neutral
“Can I be in recovery on Suboxone or methadone?” Yes.
What the evidence says
Opioid-agonist therapy — buprenorphine/naloxone (Suboxone) or methadone — is the clinical standard of care for opioid use disorder in Canada. Health Canada and the CRISM national guideline are unambiguous: it cuts overdose deaths and keeps people alive and in treatment.
A prescribed, stable dose that lets you work, sleep, and show up for your life is medicine — the same way insulin is.
What you may hear in some rooms
Fellowships don't take medical positions, but individual groups have their own cultures. In some meetings, people on OAT are counted as clean without a second thought. In others you may hear that “medication is still using.”
Both kinds of rooms exist. Neither one gets a vote on your prescription.
How to hold both: your medical care is between you and your prescriber — you don't owe any meeting your chart. If one group makes your medication a problem, that's information about the group, not about you; another meeting is usually a different night away.
The rooms, in plain language →Detox is a doorway, not the building.
Most people who stay stopped move through some version of the same four stages — and OAT can begin at any of them. Knowing the map beats learning it mid-crisis.
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01
Withdrawal management
Days. Getting through the physical exit safely — with medical eyes on the risky substances.
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02
Residential treatment
Weeks. Live-in structure while the fog lifts and the real work starts.
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03
Outpatient & OAT
Months. Living at home with counselling — and medication where it's indicated.
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04
Aftercare & community
Ongoing. Recovery housing, alumni groups, fellowship rooms. Where staying stopped actually happens.
Straight answers
Is this confidential?
Yes. You can read everything and take the self-check without an account or an email — the self-check runs entirely in your browser and nothing is stored or sent. If you choose to send a connection request, we ask for your express consent first, and your details go only to the licensed providers matched to your request. We never sell your information to data brokers or advertisers.
Does it cost anything?
Using Drug-Free Recovery is free. Much of the help itself is free too: every province funds withdrawal management and substance-use counselling, opioid-agonist therapy is covered, naloxone kits are free at most pharmacies, and peer meetings cost nothing. Private programs charge their own fees, which you confirm directly with the provider — we never quote prices on your behalf.
Can I be in recovery on Suboxone or methadone?
Yes. Opioid-agonist therapy is the clinical standard of care for opioid use disorder in Canada — it cuts overdose deaths and keeps people alive and in treatment. Fellowships take no official position on medication, though individual rooms have their own cultures. If one meeting makes your prescription a problem, that's information about the meeting, not about you.
Is the self-check a diagnosis?
No. It's an educational screen written against the eleven DSM-5 criteria clinicians use for substance use disorder — substance-agnostic, so it works whatever you're using. It can tell you whether it's worth taking seriously and where to start, but only a qualified professional can make a diagnosis. Your answers never leave the page.
Recovery starts with the pattern, not the product.
You don't need to hit a movie-scene bottom — you need one honest step. Take the self-check, or let us make one warm introduction when you're ready.
In crisis right now? Call or text 988, any hour, free.