Pubdate: Sat, 12 Aug 2017
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2017 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: http://www.torontosun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://torontosun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457
Author: Antonella Artuso
Page: 6

ADVOCATE CALLING FOR NATIONAL STATE OF EMERGENCY

Opioid crisis 'like genocide'

Recovery advocate Annie McCullough is calling for Canada to declare a
national state of emergency in the opioid crisis as the death toll
continues to climb, including three fatalities in Durham Region Friday.

McCullough, a co-founder of Faces and Voices of Recovery Canada, said
that what Toronto and the GTA is experiencing now - a surge in
fentanyl-related overdoses in Toronto - has been an epidemic in
Vancouver over the past two years.

"What's going on with fentanyl almost feels like a conspiracy because
people know now that it's killing people and they're not stopping
distributing it, whoever these people are that are doing it,"
McCullough said. "It's almost like they have a death wish for people;
it feels like genocide."

McCullough said British Columbia has already declared a state of
emergency, but the country shouldn't have to wait until things get as
bad in Toronto before Canada does the same, she said.

An appropriate response would be a task force that could look at
ensuring appropriate services and certified staff to help people in
recovery, and to also raise awareness and educate the public, she said.

In an emotional interview, McCullough said the brother of Lisa Simone,
her best friend and co-founder of Faces and Voices of Recovery Canada,
died of a suspected overdose Thursday.

"You caught me on such a terribly tragic day ... I don't know if I can
talk about this right now, but I don't know if there's a better time,"
she said, her voice full of tears. "This thing is killing people every
single day. It's unbelievable."

Durham Regional Police Const. George Tudos said three men were found
dead Friday of suspected overdoses on drugs possibly mixed with fentanyl.

In one case, a man in his 20s died in a Bowmanville
home.

Two men, one aged 45 and the other in his 30s, are believed to have
overdosed in an apartment building on Falby Court in Ajax.

There have been a total of four fatal overdoses and 12 non-fatal
overdoes in Durham Region over the past two weeks.

At the end of July, Toronto Police issued a public safety alert after
two dozen people overdosed - including four fatalities - in just a few
days.

Fentanyl, often mixed with other drugs, was implicated in many of the
ODs.

Tudos said fentanyl is being sold by itself but also combined with
marijuana, cocaine and heroin - and not all users know the drug is
present.

"In some of the cases, people are actually looking for fentanyl," he
said. "However, there are also people that are victims that have no
idea that that's one of the drugs which is being mixed or cut with
their regular drug ... We want to make people aware that you don't
know what you're buying."

While the presence of fentanyl hasn't been confirmed in all the
deaths, McCullough said the experience of those on the front line
suggests it played a major part.

When a bad batch of heroin shows up on the street, it's usually soon
noted and gone, but fentanyl just keeps showing up, she said.

"Anytime that there's an OD at this point, you can almost guarantee
that fentanyl was involved. That's the problem - it's so strong that
people don't know their dosage," she said.
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