Pubdate: Wed, 11 Oct 2000
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: The Vancouver Sun 2000
Contact:  200 Granville Street, Ste.#1, Vancouver BC V6C 3N3
Fax: (604) 605-2323
Website: http://www.vancouversun.com/
Author: Lindsay Kines

OVERDOSE DEATHS AT A 7-YEAR LOW

B.C.'s coroner reports one month without a drug death. Some on the Downtown 
Eastside credit a recent seizure of high-grade heroin.

For the first time in at least seven years, Vancouver has gone an entire 
month without a single drug overdose death, according to a preliminary 
report from the B.C. Coroner's Service.

While the reasons for the decline are unclear, some Downtown Eastside 
agencies say the RCMP's massive seizure of high-quality heroin last month 
likely played a major role.

The agencies say addicts are reporting a shortage of heroin on the streets 
after the bust and a noticeable decline in the quality of what is available.

"From what I'm hearing from some of the addicts is that the heroin that's 
out there is just crap right now and hard to get," Deb Mearns, coordinator 
of the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood Safety Office, said Tuesday.

"So enforcement could be the reason this time, because there's just not 
good quality."

"So let's hear it for law enforcement at that level, which is what people 
have been saying for years," John Turvey of the Downtown Eastside Youth 
Activities Society, said. "Do those major, major busts and then we really 
do feel the impact."

According to the coroner's report, there were no overdose deaths in 
Vancouver through all of September. The coroner's service has checked its 
records as far back as 1993 and is unable to find another month like it.

"We haven't even had anything that we suspect is an overdose in the month 
of September," Vancouver's deputy regional coroner Sherryl Yeager said. 
"It's good news as far as I'm concerned."

The entire province has also recorded a significant drop in overdose deaths 
in recent months. There were only nine deaths in each of August and 
September throughout B.C., compared to an average of 26 a month from 
January to July.

Still, the totals remain disturbingly high. B.C. recorded 202 overdose 
deaths to the end of September, compared to 204 over the same time period 
in 1999.

Vancouver leads all regions with 87 deaths, as opposed to 84 last year. The 
total works out to more than 10 a month to the end of August -- before the 
deaths suddenly stopped.

Bryan Alleyne, a drug user and president of the Vancouver Area Network of 
Drug Users, disputed suggestions the decline is due to the RCMP bust.

"The streets are still flooded with heroin," he said, although he 
acknowledged the quality is spotty. "There's a lot of garbage, which is 
true, but there is some good stuff out there."

Alleyne believes his own organization's health network has more to do with 
the decline. "We go around. We do alley patrols. We exchange needles. We do 
a lot of talking to people. . . . I'm not going to take all the credit, but 
I think that's a big part of it."

Turvey acknowledged that a number of factors may have played a role, such 
as increased discussion in the media about the problem, and more talk in 
the community. "There's more understanding of it now." But he still 
believes the Sept. 2 drug bust was a "massive contributor."

In that case, members of the RCMP's Greater Vancouver drug section arrested 
seven suspects and seized more than 99 kilograms (200 pounds) of high 
quality heroin concealed in a shipping container at a warehouse in Burnaby.

The bust was billed as the largest heroin seizure in Canadian history and 
police alleged the criminal organization was importing heroin in such 
volume it could control the price of the drug by manipulating supply and 
demand.

"That was a huge shipment by anyone's standards and it was certainly pure," 
Inspector Terry Towns, who heads the drug section, said Tuesday. "So if 
that had gotten to the street there's no doubt there would have been 
overdoses as a result of it."

But Towns said he would be more inclined to take credit for the drop in 
overdose deaths if the decline continues for several months. "It's hard to 
say. It could be just an anomaly on the screen. We'd like to think that 
[the bust] had some effect, but how do you measure it?"

Yeager said a drop in the quality of the heroin on the street could have an 
impact on the overdose rate. She said Vancouver's addicts have developed a 
tolerance for high-grade heroin, so if the quality suddenly declined, the 
overdose rate might follow suit. "It would make sense that their tolerance 
levels are more than able to take that," Yeager said.

Turvey said he would like to see more research into why the decline 
occurred, so that whatever happened can be duplicated. "Anybody with a 
brain would say: 'Let's take a researcher. Let's find out why.' If this 
works -- whatever it is -- let's find out why it works, you know."
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager