KMOPS

Let’s talk about today’s shitmix. A 🧵 Whenever I mention the toxic drug supply, some smug numpty will pop up to say: “But Guy, ALL drugs are toxic.” POINT MISSED 🙄 When I was using drugs back in the 90s & 2000s, I knew what I was taking. Heroin, mostly: white or brown powder, or if it was black tar heroin, black and sticky. I knew how much to take & what I could tolerate. There are lots of reasons organized crime shifted to synthetic opioids – fentanyl – in the illicit drug supply: it doesn’t require poppy plants grown overseas; it’s cheaper and easier to produce and traffic; it can be mixed up in local labs and cut with whatever’s on hand to make it more cost effective. It’s more concentrated, more addictive, harder to quit. THERE’S NO HEROIN ON BC STREETS ANYMORE. But the switchover to fentanyl wasn’t a well-marketed transition, like the intro of New Coke in 1985. There were no packaging labels, no warnings, no hint of impending catastrophe. Fentanyl was first flagged in B.C.’s drug supply in 2013, the same time overdose deaths began to climb. That’s also around the time all six of my overdoses took place. IN THE UNREGULATED MARKET, THERE IS NO WAY TO KNOW WHAT’S IN THE DRUGS. The powder, granules, chunks, pills (even if they look like prescription pills) likely contain a shitmix of substances that MIGHT be what you expect. BUT MIGHT NOT. Some people get addicted to fentanyl without even realizing they’re taking it. The drugs unexpectedly changed again due to pandemic supply chain interruptions. Data showed the emergence of benzodiazepine-adulterated opioids (“benzo-dope”) in as many as 60 per cent of overdose deaths between August 2020 and April 2021. Benzos are sedatives — combining them with opioids increases risk. Overdose deaths in BC (and across North America) spiked in 2020. ➡️ Again, most people first take benzos with their opioids unknowingly. ➡️ Benzos are slower to take effect than opioids. Thefts and sexual assaults have been reported after people were given benzo-dope without their knowledge. ➡️ Benzos can’t be reversed by naloxone, which makes overdose prevention trickier. ➡️ WITHDRAWAL FROM BENZO-DOPE CAN BE FATAL. Some addiction treatment providers will not admit people who test positive for benzos. And just like the crisis changed with the emergence of fentanyl, we now see co-use and dependence on opioids + benzodiazepines is occurring in parallel to the rising supply of these drugs. 👆THIS is why we have a toxic drug crisis‼️ It’s NOT an addiction crisis. It wasn’t caused or worsened by harm reduction programs. It’s not because of prescribed alternatives. It’s because the illicit, unregulated drug supply contains an ever-changing, unpredictable SHITMIX of potentially lethal chemicals. NO AMOUNT of harm reduction programs or recovery treatment programs will fix the drug supply. Only regulation can do that. In the meantime, we need every tool in the toolbox. It’s all we’ve got. #ToxicDrugCrisis #BCpoli #HarmReduction #Recovery