Everyday in 2020, 12 Canadians lost their lives due to the opioid epidemic. Such
addiction-induced deaths pose many important questions: Is addiction a medical illness that is
elegantly segregated from society? Or, is addiction what we as a society perpetuate in terms of its
stigma, thereby viewing it only through a singular lens? Inspired by such questions, this
Keystone blends insights gathered from disciplines of public health, neurobiology, and
psychology, to create a multidisciplinary framework for better understanding addictions. It
comprises both a written component and a four-episode podcast, entitled Narcotics to Nirvana.
Complex problems like addiction necessitate a multi-pronged strategy because their
understanding demands a transition from a singular to a multitudinous lens.