FORSETH – It’s past time to stop the scum who murder with drugs
(Image: Mel Rothenburger)
THE TRAGEDY of hundreds of lives lost due to drugs, addictions, and a poisoned drug supply was reported on once again last week — but was anyone listening?
Have we tuned out to the monthly reports of lives lost?
Month after month the BC Coroner’s Service announces the raw numbers of men and women … husbands and wives … brothers and sisters … fathers and mothers … that have been lost. Immediately on the heels of that comes a statement from the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Sheila Malcolmson, declaring what a tragedy it is.
What follows are the last seven months worth of “talk” about the situation … about how those lives are being mourned … about the sorrow felt … the heartbreaking loss … about those grieving … not allowing this tragedy to continue …
And yet — month after month — it does.
Some of the most sick individuals in society are praying upon those suffering from the horrendous effects of addictions – and worse yet – they are poisoning the very drug supply they are feeding the addicted with. It’s murder, plan and simple, but the law and the courts allow them to get away with it.
It seems poisoning drug addicts is okay and allowed, but if an individual was to poison their spouse, say, well that would be a different story.
Why is that? As you read the following direct quotes from B.C. government media releases, ask yourself these two questions … “Why is it allowed, why does it continue?”
And better yet ask yourself WHY we do not have the facilities needed – for immediate access – to help those suffering from addictions issues to be able to begin breaking the horrendous cycle they are on?
In March, 158 people lost their lives to a toxic illicit drug supply in B.C. It’s a heartbreaking loss, and we stand with everyone mourning the death of a loved one.
“Today, people in every community throughout the province hold sorrow in their hearts for loved ones lost, as we mark the sombre five-year anniversary of British Columbia’s overdose emergency.
“As we grieve the more than 7,000 people who have died by overdose since the public health emergency began, we reaffirm that we cannot – and will not – allow this tragedy to continue.
“In February, we lost 155 people to a toxic illicit drug supply in B.C. They were taken too soon. It’s a heartbreaking loss.
“We lost 165 more family members, friends, co-workers and teammates in January as a result of the toxic illicit drug supply in B.C. This staggering number follows the deadliest year our province has ever experienced when it comes to the overdose crisis. This level of loss is hard to bear, and we mourn with everyone who has lost a loved one.
“In 2020, 1,716 people lost their lives to a toxic illicit drug supply in B.C. This overwhelming loss of life is felt deeply in every community, and we mourn with families, friends, co-workers and teammates who are grieving unbearably tragic loss.
“Heartbreakingly, 153 people lost their lives in November due to a dramatically more toxic drug supply in B.C. These are our parents, children, friends and neighbours in communities across B.C.
“The BC Coroners Service has published updated reports on illicit drug toxicity deaths and fentanyl-detected drug deaths to October 31, 2020, with 162 illicit drug toxicity deaths reported in October. The latest data equate to five people per day losing their lives to illicit drug overdoses.
“This is the fifth month this year with more than 160 suspected illicit drug deaths reported to the BC Coroners Service and more than double the number of people who died as a result of a toxic drug supply in October 2019,” said Lisa Lapointe, chief coroner.
In September 2020, there were 127 suspected illicit drug toxicity deaths. This represents a 112% increase over the number of deaths in September 2019
The BC Coroners Service has published updated reports on illicit drug toxicity deaths and fentanyl-detected drug deaths to the end of August 2020, with 147 illicit drug toxicity deaths reported in the month. The illicit drug toxicity death total represents a 71% increase over the number of deaths in August 2019
Those raking in blood money from creating a poison drug supply need to know that this will no longer be allowed to continue.
These malignant scums of society need to go from their palatial homes, to instead living a cold prison cell.
It’s time – no it’s well past time – to actually do something about this.
Alan Forseth is a Kamloops resident and former member of the Reform Party of Canada and the B.C. Reform Party, and a past and current member of the BC Conservative Party. His blog is My Thoughts on Politics and More.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Although I haven’t been personally affected by the addiction/overdose crisis, I still understand the callous politics involved with this most serious social issue: Just government talk about increasing funding to make proper treatment available to low- and no-income addicts, however much it would alleviate their great suffering, generates firm opposition by the general socially and fiscally conservative electorate. The reaction is largely due to the preconceived notion that drug addicts are but weak-willed and/or have somehow committed a moral crime.
Ignored is that such intense addiction usually does not originate from a bout of boredom, where a person repeatedly consumed recreationally but became heavily hooked on an unregulated often-deadly chemical that eventually destroyed their life and even that of a loved-one. The greater the drug-induced euphoria or escape one attains from its use, the more one wants to repeat the experience; and the more intolerable one finds their sober reality, the more pleasurable that escape should be perceived. By extension, the greater one’s mental pain or trauma while sober, the greater the need for escape from reality, thus the more addictive the euphoric escape-form will likely be. Regardless, we now know pharmaceutical corporations intentionally pushed their very addictive and profitable opiate pain killers — I call it the real moral crime — for which they got off relatively lightly, considering the resulting immense suffering and overdose death numbers.
I find that a large number of people, however precious their lives, can be considered disposable to a nation. Then those people may begin perceiving themselves as worthless and consume their substances more haphazardly. Although the cruel devaluation of them as human beings is basically based on their self-medicating, it still reminds me of the devaluation, albeit perhaps subconsciously, of the daily civilian lives lost (a.k.a. “casualties”) in protractedly devastating civil war zones and sieges. At some point, they can end up receiving a meagre couple of column inches in the First World’s daily news.
Tose who are non addicted to drugs but make a business out of dealing in illicit hard drugs, if convicted in a court of law should receive a mandatory death sentence. It’s the getting them into court that is the tough part.
Why do we continue to avoid capital punishment for the people who kill countless others just to make a few bucks? I am quite confident that if a dealer were facing death when caught, he would probably quit dealing. If not, too bad….not worth saving, but most or all victims are worth it…
The war on drugs, a multi-government program invented to keep socialism from spreading is the biggest culprit of all the nonsense going on presently in our society. And non-others than conservatives are their absolute backward thinking are the fundamental cause of all the suffering. You desperately need to be properly informed Allan. Your ignorance is dangerous and costly.
Thank you for your enlightening comments Pierre.
Just an FYI … I am not calling for a ‘war on drugs’ per se — especially on those at the street level just trying to earn enough to feed the addictive cravings they suffer from — I am calling for those at the top of the supply chain to actually be held accountable for the horrific pain and suffering they are causing — all while living a life of extreme luxury. Lock the bastards up, and when death from a toxic drug supply is the cause, charge them with manslaughter at the very least.
Your response Allan is entirety out of context of what I wrote. Furthermore it tells me that you shouldn’t comment on matters you understand little about, which is most of the stuff you pretend to know about. I would like to enlighten you more but I know it would be a waste of time and energies hence I limit myself to a little critique.
And more over Allan, your opinion pieces are perpetuating myths on a number of subjects and certainly on this one. The big fiasco of the “war on drugs” is indisputably caused by a certain media narrative which is ignorant about the drugs themselves and on the need of such substances for a great number of people in our society. Stop writing nonsense please! I implore you!
Always a pleasure to read an explanation of WHY something is happening.
Really Alan, you are asking to lock up the people that have driven people to suicide on drugs, accidentally or deliberately. That is the general population and culture that we are immersed in. Truly dangerous and costly…
You have hit the nail on the head. However, it seems the more we hear about the tragic loss of life, the more we become immune to it. To borrow a thought from the pandemic, it almost seems we have become vaccinated with information but lack the effect the real disease should have on us.
We contract out our safety and well being through governments who pay for police and the legal system through our taxes. For the most part, that system works.
To lose total control of the right to protect ourselves and our loved ones may be part of the problem. It is not just the victim of toxic drug supply who dies; it extends to family members and those close to the person who has been poisoned.
Even our dog has the right to protect himself. Something in our system is broken.