With all the headlines about recent fentanyl overdoses – the death tolls stands at 622 in B.C. – undoubtedly every parent of a teen in Squamish is concerned.
The Squamish Chief sat down with Squamish RCMP Cst. Martin Mindel, the Squamish school liaison, to talk about the opioid fentanyl and other drugs found in town. What follows is an edited version of that conversation.
Q: Has Squamish seen a lot of fentanyl overdoses?
A: I don’t think Squamish has had any official deaths from fentanyl. We have had four or five cases where fentanyl was involved, but the person didn’t die. They were taken to hospital. Fentanyl has been known to be in the drugs those people were taking.
Q: What form of fentanyl are you seeing in Squamish?
A: I believe it is a powder form and it gets mixed in with other drugs. So the pill form might get crushed down. Apparently, it is not a difficult drug to make at home. They are crushing it down and mixing it in with cocaine or heroin. I don’t think anybody is taking pure fentanyl, it is all cut in with something else. There’s also cross contamination. If you have a drug dealer who is mixing fentanyl who also sells marijuana, is he making sure he is taking off his gloves or is he touching all that product and then using the same gloves? We have seen a few kids in hospital who said they only smoked marijuana, but were having weird affects, so was their’s a cross contamination?
Q: Do Squamish RCMP carry the antidote to fentanyl, Naloxone?
A: We have kits here and each member has to take an online course for the administration of it. They are given a box that has two doses and we should be carrying that nasal spray in our vehicle or in our duty bag.
Q: What drugs are most prevalent in Squamish?
A: Squamish has every drug. I think with three marijuana dispensaries, it is a key availability now, which is affecting the youth with easier access to it. I have already had a few files where kids have admitted they pay adults to get it at the dispensaries. We do have cocaine here as well and heroin, ecstasy – Molly.
Q. Some youth seem to think pot is basically legal and no problem having it.
A: It is not legal. People cannot possess it or have it on them or smoke it, yet why are there three dispensaries in Squamish? It comes down to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promising to legalize it. And, if the city is allowing them, and the mayor and council are approving them being in the community, it is kind of hard to have that battle.
It is still very harmful to the brain [of youth]. The THC [tetrahydrocannabinol] content today is not what it was in the 1950s when it was two per cent THC. Now we are in the 30 to 40 per cent, and that is not the medicinal part of the plant. It is the CBD [cannabidiol] content that has been proven to be helpful and doesn’t have the same affects on the body. It has more of that anti-inflammatory effect and doesn’t cause the brain to have all this damage.
Q: How are drugs getting to the youth?
A: We do have the local dealers that I believe sell more on the higher end. Again, we do have three illegal dispensaries here now. Most drugs are readily available. And, when we do arrest drug dealers, it doesn’t take long for them to be out. Whether they get jail time or not, they are back in the community continuing. Is the penal system hard enough on the drug community? I personally don’t feel it is. Do you think kids would do the drugs or possess the drugs if they knew they could face two years in jail?
Q: What do you tell kids about drugs?
A: I try to advocate staying away. You don’t need those drugs. Your life can be the same or better without drugs. Life is not boring. Why does making your brain shut down seem fun or cool? It is so dangerous.
You never know what you are truly getting. The dealer is not going to tell you, he probably doesn’t even know. The potency of each time you take it is a coin flip, will I die today? And hopefully as Squamish grows it will have more recreation for youth to participate in around town.
Q: What else would you like youth in Squamish to know?
A: We are trying to promote the youth centre. Youth can participate in many activities at the Squamish Youth Resource Centre. They have a lot of things going on there. The building is right behind Howe Sound Secondary. They post events on Facebook at Squamish Youthworker. Also, we run a dodge ball on Friday nights from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Howe Sound Secondary School. We got 20 kids last week, a good group. We are trying to get other ideas too, not all kids want to do dodge ball. Some have suggested yoga and I can set that up for them. Any types of events they want. They can contact me with an idea at [email protected].
