EDITOR’S NOTE: Sarnia-Lambton is struggling with an unprecedented addiction crisis, generating plenty of news about overdoses and homelessness. But sometimes there is recovery. And it’s anticipated that new government investment in local services and facilities will bring additional relief. The award-winning team of journalist Cathy Dobson and photographer Glenn Ogilvie set out this past winter to find individuals who have experienced serious alcohol and drug addictions, and who found their own path to recovery. Below, you can find the full supplement which appeared in The Independent May 14, 2026. Watch here for further stories.

Cathy Dobson/Local Journalism Initiative

Brad Murray remembers vividly the day he chose recovery.

He was sitting in a parking lot debating his next move. He’d used up the last of his Percocet prescription and, with the withdrawal symptoms of an opioid addiction coming on hard, craved more. His stomach felt empty. Sour. He was restless and sweating.

“I was feeling extremely anxious,” he said

In desperation, he considered his options: Find a drug dealer selling OxyContin, the powerful opioid in Percocets, or go to a walk-in clinic and ask for help.

“I thought to myself, ‘When is this going to end?’ I knew my addiction was leading me to a really bad place.”

He’d never bought drugs on the street before. But he’d been stealing opioids like OxyContin from the evidence locker at the Halton Regional Police Service where he worked as a staff sergeant. As he sat in his car wrestling with what to do, he thought of an incident that happened on the job about two months earlier.

“I was booking a prisoner and the prisoner was going through significant withdrawal from fentanyl.

“The only difference between him and me was that I was in a uniform. I was going through withdrawal from Percocets,” he said.

The prisoner said he needed to get to a clinic for either Suboxone or methadone to help with withdrawal.

“He educated me,” said Murray. “It’s so ironic. I spent nine years in the drug unit and knew nothing about addiction. Nothing.”

That day in the parking lot, Murray decided to find a clinic. He was 38 years old and a 16-year police veteran who rose quickly in the ranks. He walked in, admitted to his addiction to Percocet, and said he needed help.

“It wasn’t an easy thing to do but it saved my life.”

Murray began treatment with Suboxone, a prescribed opiate that reduces withdrawal symptoms and cravings and lowers the risk of an overdose. Two weeks later, his employer secured him a rehab bed at Homewood Health Centre in Guelph where Murray stayed for six weeks.

“A big part of my story is that the first day in treatment at Homewood, they said that when I was done there, I would not be cured,” he said.

“They said you are going to have to go to meetings for the rest of your life and now you are going to have to do 90 meetings in 90 days.”

At Homewood, Murray took part in programs specifically for police, military and corrections officers.
It felt safer to do programs with other officers because he felt a certain kind of judgement from those who weren’t.

“(Police) are expected to be beyond reproach 100% of the time,” he said. “You aren’t supposed to fall to addiction. That type of mentality can stop some people from asking for help.”

Sitting in group therapy that first day, he admitted it all out loud. It was a relief not to have secrets anymore, Murray said. “I knew I was an addict. But it’s an ego thing and I hadn’t wanted to admit to it.”

“I finally felt like there was some hope.”

As a first responder with an addiction, he is far from alone. Multiple studies have found that 14-22% of responders, including firefighters, police officers and paramedics, have reported misusing prescription drugs.

In Murray’s case, the first time he used Percocets was when they were prescribed to ease his pain after surgery in 2008. He had serious knee and shoulder injuries – some occurring on the job – and required 10 surgeries in 15 years.

The drug slowly took control. By 2012 or so he was waking up and popping six pills just to start the day.
He blames no one but himself.

When his prescriptions weren’t enough, he began stealing opioids from the police service’s drug vault where evidence is stored.

At some point, an internal audit was requested and a seven-month investigation revealed that there had been tampering with about 30 exhibits. Each case involved prescription or illicit opioids.

In May 2017, Murray was arrested, charged and suspended with pay. A year later, he pleaded guilty to breach of trust while he was head of Halton’s Drug and Morality Unit.

He was granted a conditional discharge with three years of probation and 180 hours of community service. It meant he has no criminal record.

By that time, Murray had gone to rehab and was in recovery. He chose in 2020 to resign from the Halton Regional Police Service and to start a new career. His resignation meant he was not subject to discipline under the Police Services Act.

At first, he considered becoming an addictions counsellor. He also took an architectural technology course. But neither was for him.

Ultimately, he decided he wanted to return to law enforcement. “I knew the only way I could make a difference was to get back into policing…it’s my passion. You don’t lose that,” he said.
Technically, there was nothing stopping him.

“But I knew some people wouldn’t be able to look beyond my past, and I totally respect that,” he said.
So he became a tobacco enforcement officer with the Brant and Middlesex-London health units.

“I loved being back in the enforcement side of things,” he said. He spoke to a number of Ontario police chiefs about work and acknowledged there was fear that he could relapse.

“I totally get that. I realize I have to keep doing the work,” he said.

In 2023 he was surprised by a call from Sarnia Chief Derek Davis. The two had worked in Halton at the same time but weren’t friends, Murray said.

Davis told Murray about a new civilian position being created in Sarnia and suggested he apply.

“I have to tell you, that was the turning point in my life,” said Murray. “I hadn’t lost hope. I knew someone just had to give me a chance.”

He was hired in 2024 by Sarnia Police Service as a crime analyst.

It had been nearly seven years after his arrest and he was seven years into his recovery. Six months later, he became manager of crime and intelligence in Sarnia.

“The first day here, I sat down with my colleagues and told them my story,” he said. “I wanted to own up to the elephant in the room. I wanted to be honest. It’s a story that follows you, but I have a sense of hope and pride that I got through the tough times.

“It’s very easy in addiction to blame others…but the solution comes from within. I put the work in. I’ve done the education. I made the amends.

“And it’s easier now,” he said. “It’s all been in the newspaper already. I don’t have any secrets anymore. That’s my super power.”

Where to find help

• Alcoholics Anonymous – 519-337-5211 www.aasarnialambton.com
• Narcotics Anonymous – 1-800-573-0920 www.orscna.org
• Canadian Mental Health Lambton Kent – 519-337-5411 www.lambtonkent.cmha.ca
• 24/7 Canadian Mental Health Crisis Line – 519-336-3445 or 1-800-307-4319
• Drug Addiction Hotline – 1-800-721-3232
• Distress Line (Family Counselling Centre) – 519-336-3000
• Bluewater Health Community Addiction Support – outpatient and walk-in services, crisis intervention, counselling, treatment referrals, for people in Sarnia-Lambton who struggle with substance abuse. Phone 519-332-4673 or email possible@bluewaterhealth.ca. Location: Bluewater Health, Level 6, Russell Building, 89 Norman St. Sarnia.
• Bluewater Health Acute Withdrawal Management – includes inpatient, 7-bed unit for detox for three – five days. Self referral. Counselling. 24/7 519-464-4487
• Bluewater Health Ryan’s House Stabilization Facility, a second-stage withdrawal management facility. Offers 12 beds for men and women over 16 to stay up to one month for early recovery following detox. 306 Exmouth St. Sarnia.
• HART (Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment) Hub – recently opened in Sarnia. Two locations. 30-bed residential facility (up to 18 months) considered the third stage for recovery in Sarnia-Lambton, following detox and Ryan’s House. 275 Wellington St. (formerly SCITS high school).
• HART Hub drop-in at 210 Lochiel St. offers recovery support services, showers, laundry, a kitchen, health care referrals, help finding housing, employment, and mental health supports.
• Suicide Crisis Helpline – 9-8-8 (call or text)
• Community Health Integrated Care (CHIC Team) Daily, on-scene interventions, rapid response, withdrawal management.
• MobileCare – Community Health Outreach. Travels across urban and rural S-L with free, walk in services. No appointment required. Primary care, mental health care, addictions services, withdrawal management services and referrals. 1-866-299-7447. www.sl.mobilecareclinic.ca.
• Bluewater Methadone Clinic S-L at 118 Victoria St. in Sarnia. 519-337-5000.
• Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point Health Services for mental health and addictions at 6275 Indian Lane, Lambton Shores. 519-786-5647.
• Youth Wellness Hub – 190 Front St. for ages 12 – 25 and their families. Crisis/Walk in support, case management, psychotherapy, peer support, addiction services, nurse practitioner, drop in activity groups, fitness activities, family support, housing support and vocational services. 519-491-1466
• Redpath (Inn of the Good Shepherd on John St. Sarnia) Addictions treatment using an Indigenous specific model. Clinical and cultural approaches in a group setting. Call 519-344-1746 ext. 338.
• Lambton College personal and mental health counselling – available free to all full and part-time students.

Regional longer term residential rehab facilities:

• Westover Treatment Centre in Thamesville, call 1-800-721-3232;
• Renascent Addiction Centre in Toronto, call 1-866-232-1212;
• Residence at Homewood and Health Centre in Guelph, call 1-438-258-5460;
• Brentwood Recovery House in Windsor, call 519-253-2441;
• Hope Place in Milton, call 905-878-1120.