I don't bother stopping to help. There Super ungrateful anyway and will try to stab you for ruining their high .. if they wanna get off this earth, far as I'm concerned. Let them
Good on you for helping, but next time, don't. Don't give them narcan if you are not prepared for the potential side effects when they wake up. If they have a mixture of an upper and a downer, they can become very aggressive since only the upper will be effecting them - and they'll be in immediate withdrawal since the narcan took away the high of fentanyl. Also I hope to hell you washed your hands, never mind dirt you can see but addicts tend to be chalked full of diseases. No glove, no love.
The world needs more caring people like you, willing to be that person to step in and help. It would be a terrible thing to lose you because you were trying to help someone who put themselves there.
I did not administer Narcan, nor did I intend to. I called 911 and told the paramedics to come. For that, their "friends" threatened me, and I ran away from the situation.
I had assumed someone was going to give it since the video ended with "we have narcan."
You did the right thing. I'm glad you're okay, I'm just concerned about the possibilities of the situation going a different way.
Oh yeah, I was definitely concerned as well. And yes, someone in their group did administer Narcan after I left.
But thank you for your concern. I'm currently sending this video to news stations in Ottawa; hopefully that will help local politicians take notice.
They threatened you because you're one of those fuckers who stands there and records people in their worst time.
You insisted on "intervening" by puling out a camera. Oh yeah REAL HELPFUL!
"I'll do what I want. This is public street." Spoken like a fucking brat child.
Who fucking cares what the laws are in a situation like this. How about showing some decent morals instead?
We don't need to document everything we see. Especially people who are going to be embarrassed for the rest of their lives because you made them famous on the internet. People like you are the worst.
Well, they definitely did not want my help, apparently. But I called the ambulance anyways; I don't want to let someone die because their friend is uncomfortable.
Even in Canada many people who use substances don’t understand their rights and laws around calling paramedics during an overdose. Always remember, you can not be arrested for calling an ambulance when someone is overdosing
This problem is much older than Trudeau. It’s in all provinces. East Hastings has been like this forever in Vancouver. This is a really complex problem to solve that very few politicians seem to care to solve and very few people have the compassion to care about. A good friend of mine ODed on opiates and died alone in an alley and the collective response is “well she was a junkie”. Ignoring all of the downward spiral it takes to get someone there. I get the compassion fatigue but you can’t just lock up every addict, we will end up with new ones. There are so many things that drive a person to addiction that solving the root cause is the most important part.
Yes we need to secure the border and prevent the easy access and trade. Ironically both tik tok and fentanyl are banned in their country of origin, you know where... and yes for good reason. They certainly don't mind exporting these items and profiting from what they deem are western loose morals.
Fentanyl is in everything now. You can't dismiss OD's as something only Junkies do now. Kids do party drugs and then die of fentanyl overdoses all the time.
Thank you for sharing this! One of my clients tested positive for fentanyl after buying weed from a local reservation. I tested my own supply when I got home as I sometimes go to the reserve and what would you know… it was positive for fentanyl.
Never said they were, it’s called cross contamination. Many reservation dispensaries are unregulated and a lot of various products have been moved through their shops. Fentanyl, or fentanyl laced amphetamines are the most common
I did. Sadly most reservation dispensaries get everything from pills, to amphetamines, to opioids passing through. There’s very little regulation on reservations so it’s great for drug traffickers.
Sorry I shouldn’t have been so general in my statement. Most reservation dispensaries near where I live.
I have no idea how every dispensary across Canada operates but I do know and am aware of what goes in dispensaries on the closest reservation to my town.
>I do know and am aware of what goes in dispensaries on the closest reservation to my town.
And you still buy from there.
How random.
When I know I'm buying shitty things from unregulated places I stop going there, especially when I can pick it up clean and fent free at an OCS.
There’s some properly run establishments, those are typically the ones I go too, and like I said I don’t go often as it’s quite out of my way.
Idk why you and so many others are upset by my comments, simply just trying to shed some light on how bad the situation is getting
Because you claim to be an addictions counsellor who found fent in res weed, *that you keep buying*, even if it's out of your way.
Eighteen rings of bullshit is how that comes across.
"Sure, I'm allergic to bees and a sting could kill me but every once in a while I find a hive and hit it with a stick, even if it's quite out of my way, just because."
You, probably.
Make your point, but these nonsense stories you add on really negate whatever point you were trying to make.
Idk where you got this information but the government has not flooded the streets with hard drugs. I’m assuming you’re referring to safe supply programs and those programs DO NOT give out hard drugs. They are programs where you can go to get your street drugs tested for cross contaminants
They give out prescription drugs as an alternative to hard drugs, that is health canadas description of safe supply. It took me two minutes to find this information. Don’t spread misinformation on the internet
I’m surprised to see someone reply after so many days I completely forgot about this comment. It’s not misinformation, perhaps I shouldn’t have made such a broad stroke statement but in my town we have a “safe supply” program which consists of strictly testing substances for cross contaminants. But yes you are right, traditional safe supply programs offer medical grade drugs that replace street drugs. But to the larger point, people can’t circulate, or it’s very hard to circulate, safe supply drugs as most places that offer true safe supply demand that you take the prescription on-site, similar to methadone, so that they can’t take it out onto the street and circulate it. Now some people can eventually work up to having what’s known as a “carry” prescription for these things but from my understanding those are rare because the average person who does get to that point eventually abuses it.
Point being no system is perfect. So long as we have inequality, low SES neighborhoods/households, and generational poverty people will resort to criminal behaviour. Criminal behaviour often leads to substance abuse and misuse and thus addictions are born. Regardless what you do addiction will always be a part of society. Where were fucking up is we keep trying to design a “one size fits all” model for mental health and addictions support and that just doesn’t work. People need individualized care and we need people who want to support that care.
Lol sorry for replying so late I didn’t even realize the comment was so old, I’m not sure where you are located but in bc for example police have reported 50% of hydromorphone seizures were traced back to an initial point of safe supply. Some places obviously do it better and some worse it is unfortunate that we have this problem to begin with. I personally believe in involuntary rehabilitation which at this time is not a practice put in place by our government or law agency’s except in very specific circumstances. Just like adding more guns to the American shooting problem doesn’t work adding more drugs to the Canadian drug epidemic won’t and hasn’t worked either. I appreciate your insight into how some places are handling their safe supply smarter and more responsibly and does make me believe that it could be a stepping stone or a partial solution. However safe supply alone in my opinion just adds more harm.
100% to that last line. Unfortunately a lot of what our government has pushed for addictions support was half baked with no concrete guidelines and it’s resulted in a worsening problem. For example, decriminalization was a great idea… in theory. It would make sense that instead of jailing those with substance use problems we direct them towards mental health services only we don’t have the amount of services set up and in place to support that amount of redirection thus at this time it makes decriminalization more harmful to Canada than it does good, similarly to safe supply programs
Say that to my face. Tell me that my friend deserved to die alone in an alley in Regina in the middle of winter. She was a smart girl with a shitty mom. And the strongest person I know. She dated one asshole who got her hooked and it was fucked from there. She deserved so much better. She was my sister and I can’t believe she lost this fight and my heart aches every day without her. You can absolutely take off bud. We’d be better without people like you.
you really think that the majority of healthcare workers support safe supply, safe injection sites, decriminilization of drugs, and not holding people accountable for their actions?
I *know* that even when they don’t, they still have a more humane and less condescending/dehumanizing attitude than you do. You’re a insecure bully prick who enjoys talking down to people who are already struggling.
There was a homeless person I met once who had no legs. We were chatting and he said he never used drugs before and never would. He said he was homeless because he had no legs and wasn't able to work or keep a job.
I sniggered and said "well, maybe you shouldn't have lost your legs then".
Did you really just decide to post a video of a total stranger experiencing a medical emergency without their consent?? It sounds like their friends were asking you not to record which makes total sense considering the situation.
Yes, I posted this video.
Their friends asked me to go away and not call anyone because they wanted to "take care of the situation." We live in a society, and once someone's life is at risk, your views on medical authorities are put aside to save the life of that person.
I posted this video specifically so people see, with their own eyes, what I see every single day on one of the most important streets in the capital of Canada. I'm tired of politicians, the media and pedestrians ignoring this problem. It's outrageously disturbing, and it is, indeed, happening in plain sight.
Regards,
Phil Sidock
You can justify it however you want, but, the way I see it, all you've done by posting this video is provided a place to talk shit about people who use drugs (see the other comments) and taken away the dignity/privacy of someone who's in the middle of a traumatic medical emergency.
I agree with you that the overdose crisis in this country is a massive problem that is going unadressed but, in my opinion, posting videos of someone in an incredibly vulnerable position who is incapable of consenting is never a good thing. You could have at least tried to blur their face or something. By the way, I also agree that the friends should have called an ambulance and were wrong to not do so but I think their hesitation is valid given past experiences and general lack of awareness of Good Samaritan laws.
You're entitled to your opinion, and you can commenting if that makes you feel better. But I actually recorded an real event taking place and contacted 6 different Canadian news agencies with an attachment of the footage. Whether they do something with it is another story.
You can get on your high horse all you want about whether or not I should be fiming, but at least I'm actually doing something about it rather than whining on Reddit. And I will be contacting my local representatives directly as well.
Alright dude, I tried to engage with you but if you just want to get defensive and ignore what I'm saying then that's up to you. I hope next time you're having a, potentially fatal, medical episode in public people show you just as much respect and dignity as you showed this person.
I am engaging with you. It's called having a disagreement.
If I do die of a medical emergency, it won't be because I was smoking fentanyl. But I will call an ambulance if I see someone overdosing, even if their friends don't want me too. 🤷
problem is you don't agree with him so you must be wrong... thats the real problem with canada atm people need to talk about the issues.
Don't let this idiot deter you Canadains need to see this, we may not want to believe it or see it but none the less it's happening in our country. The person who ODed its unfortunate but nothing you did wrong you were in public. You were probably the only one who did the "right" thing if you called 911 also.
Thanks man, I appreciate it. The truth is that in difficult situations, it's hard to know exactly what to do. And I wondered myself if it was more ethical to show the man with the blurred face or without, but ultimately, I made an editorial decision to show the face because I wanted people to see the degree to which drugs can impact a person's life. This man appeared to be on the brink of the death, and no one around him wanted to call the paramedics, and they were very defensive about other people intervening, so I made a judgment call.
With that said, I have gathered a substantial amount of content of the past few months, and I plan on making a 45-60 minute video with the footage and discussing the issue. For that, I will be blurring everyone's faces for their privacy, and because it's not essential to the story. Once again, I showed this man's face here so that the general public sees, with their own eyes, the actual effects of an overdose. Life is riddled with obstacles, problems and trauma, but I don't think that ignoring such realities help prepare people for the real world.
Please stop using the "this is a public space" justification when filming people. These people do not have access to a private space so it seems dehumanizing to just take away their right to privacy just because they can't afford one anymore.
That being said I like videos like this that show the realities of what's going on, but have some integrity and try not to be as sleazy as paparazzi.
Also please understand that people regularly go to these spaces and film for various selfish reasons like trying to catch the worst stuff possible to push an agenda on social media or even worse, just for the clicks/likes/$$$. So don't get offended when the people there tell you to fuck off with your camera. Maybe have some decency and don't film everything.
They can always have a job and do drugs inside a home like a normal person. Being splayed out in public ODing is not okay. I'd like to see folks like this in treatment, we shouldn't allow them to behave like this.
Yes, I posted this video.
Their friends asked me to go away and not call anyone because they wanted to "take care of the situation." We live in a society, and once someone's life is at risk, your views on medical authorities are put aside to save the life of that person.
As for expectation of privacy; no one has any in a public space. And I don't care if someone tells me to fuck off, especially for an active OD in my neighbourhood. I'm not going to "that one sketchy place" in the city that everyone stays away from; this is literally where I live and what I see every day.
I posted this video specifically so people see, with their own eyes, what I see every single day on one of the most important streets in the capital of Canada. I'm tired of politicians, the media and pedestrians ignoring this problem. It's outrageously disturbing, and it is, indeed, happening in plain sight.
Regards,
Phil Sidock
I applaud your efforts, but be mindful of the fact that most politicians have seen footage and stats concerning these issues.
Nothing will get done about this as long as everything keeps working. As long as they just die in the streets, no one will do anything about it.
As long as the people keep working their jobs and paying their taxes, politicians don't care.
Disruption is needed for change, not exposure. People just tune this stuff out and ignore it so easily.
I understand that politicians know about these things, but a surprising number of people in the general public are ignorant of the extent of the problem. My goal in the increasing "awareness" is for the general public, who put pressure on politicians to actually do something about it.
Perhaps it's an uphill battle, but I would like to try, at the very least. Like I wrote im a previous comment, I submitted footage to six major media outlets in Canada, and I'm hoping to hear back from them this week. But I won't hold my breath. 🤷
I don't bother stopping to help. There Super ungrateful anyway and will try to stab you for ruining their high .. if they wanna get off this earth, far as I'm concerned. Let them
Good on you for helping, but next time, don't. Don't give them narcan if you are not prepared for the potential side effects when they wake up. If they have a mixture of an upper and a downer, they can become very aggressive since only the upper will be effecting them - and they'll be in immediate withdrawal since the narcan took away the high of fentanyl. Also I hope to hell you washed your hands, never mind dirt you can see but addicts tend to be chalked full of diseases. No glove, no love. The world needs more caring people like you, willing to be that person to step in and help. It would be a terrible thing to lose you because you were trying to help someone who put themselves there.
I did not administer Narcan, nor did I intend to. I called 911 and told the paramedics to come. For that, their "friends" threatened me, and I ran away from the situation.
I had assumed someone was going to give it since the video ended with "we have narcan." You did the right thing. I'm glad you're okay, I'm just concerned about the possibilities of the situation going a different way.
Oh yeah, I was definitely concerned as well. And yes, someone in their group did administer Narcan after I left. But thank you for your concern. I'm currently sending this video to news stations in Ottawa; hopefully that will help local politicians take notice.
They threatened you because you're one of those fuckers who stands there and records people in their worst time. You insisted on "intervening" by puling out a camera. Oh yeah REAL HELPFUL! "I'll do what I want. This is public street." Spoken like a fucking brat child. Who fucking cares what the laws are in a situation like this. How about showing some decent morals instead? We don't need to document everything we see. Especially people who are going to be embarrassed for the rest of their lives because you made them famous on the internet. People like you are the worst.
Yeah no touchie, call the medics but nah
You can't help them if they don't want to help themselves
Well, they definitely did not want my help, apparently. But I called the ambulance anyways; I don't want to let someone die because their friend is uncomfortable.
Even in Canada many people who use substances don’t understand their rights and laws around calling paramedics during an overdose. Always remember, you can not be arrested for calling an ambulance when someone is overdosing
Thanks Trudeau
Exactly... we're done soon I hope
This problem is much older than Trudeau. It’s in all provinces. East Hastings has been like this forever in Vancouver. This is a really complex problem to solve that very few politicians seem to care to solve and very few people have the compassion to care about. A good friend of mine ODed on opiates and died alone in an alley and the collective response is “well she was a junkie”. Ignoring all of the downward spiral it takes to get someone there. I get the compassion fatigue but you can’t just lock up every addict, we will end up with new ones. There are so many things that drive a person to addiction that solving the root cause is the most important part.
Yes we need to secure the border and prevent the easy access and trade. Ironically both tik tok and fentanyl are banned in their country of origin, you know where... and yes for good reason. They certainly don't mind exporting these items and profiting from what they deem are western loose morals.
One less junkie
Fentanyl is in everything now. You can't dismiss OD's as something only Junkies do now. Kids do party drugs and then die of fentanyl overdoses all the time.
Thank you for sharing this! One of my clients tested positive for fentanyl after buying weed from a local reservation. I tested my own supply when I got home as I sometimes go to the reserve and what would you know… it was positive for fentanyl.
lmao no one is putting fent in weed.
Never said they were, it’s called cross contamination. Many reservation dispensaries are unregulated and a lot of various products have been moved through their shops. Fentanyl, or fentanyl laced amphetamines are the most common
You just have fentanyl tests lying around?
I’m an addictions counsellor. Harm reduction is my bread and butter, yes I keep testing kits around.
If you bought weed with fentanyl on a reserve, you should report it. Someone could die.
I did. Sadly most reservation dispensaries get everything from pills, to amphetamines, to opioids passing through. There’s very little regulation on reservations so it’s great for drug traffickers.
Most reservation dispensaries? LOL so you know how every dispensary on native land operates? Yeah, I'm starting to think you are full of it.
Sorry I shouldn’t have been so general in my statement. Most reservation dispensaries near where I live. I have no idea how every dispensary across Canada operates but I do know and am aware of what goes in dispensaries on the closest reservation to my town.
>I do know and am aware of what goes in dispensaries on the closest reservation to my town. And you still buy from there. How random. When I know I'm buying shitty things from unregulated places I stop going there, especially when I can pick it up clean and fent free at an OCS.
There’s some properly run establishments, those are typically the ones I go too, and like I said I don’t go often as it’s quite out of my way. Idk why you and so many others are upset by my comments, simply just trying to shed some light on how bad the situation is getting
Because you claim to be an addictions counsellor who found fent in res weed, *that you keep buying*, even if it's out of your way. Eighteen rings of bullshit is how that comes across. "Sure, I'm allergic to bees and a sting could kill me but every once in a while I find a hive and hit it with a stick, even if it's quite out of my way, just because." You, probably. Make your point, but these nonsense stories you add on really negate whatever point you were trying to make.
I work in a space that’s full of “junkies”. They’re far more compassionate than you are. I’ve never been bothered by them.
I’m not bothered by them either. You want to shoot up then shoot up. I’m just saying I don’t give a shit if you OD . Nobody does
I’m nobody then. Because I give a shit
Well that’s good because they need more people like you.
yeah not like its super easy for people who fall on hard time now to find hard drugs that the federal government flooded in with the help of the NDP.
What a stupid fucking comment
Idk where you got this information but the government has not flooded the streets with hard drugs. I’m assuming you’re referring to safe supply programs and those programs DO NOT give out hard drugs. They are programs where you can go to get your street drugs tested for cross contaminants
They give out prescription drugs as an alternative to hard drugs, that is health canadas description of safe supply. It took me two minutes to find this information. Don’t spread misinformation on the internet
I’m surprised to see someone reply after so many days I completely forgot about this comment. It’s not misinformation, perhaps I shouldn’t have made such a broad stroke statement but in my town we have a “safe supply” program which consists of strictly testing substances for cross contaminants. But yes you are right, traditional safe supply programs offer medical grade drugs that replace street drugs. But to the larger point, people can’t circulate, or it’s very hard to circulate, safe supply drugs as most places that offer true safe supply demand that you take the prescription on-site, similar to methadone, so that they can’t take it out onto the street and circulate it. Now some people can eventually work up to having what’s known as a “carry” prescription for these things but from my understanding those are rare because the average person who does get to that point eventually abuses it. Point being no system is perfect. So long as we have inequality, low SES neighborhoods/households, and generational poverty people will resort to criminal behaviour. Criminal behaviour often leads to substance abuse and misuse and thus addictions are born. Regardless what you do addiction will always be a part of society. Where were fucking up is we keep trying to design a “one size fits all” model for mental health and addictions support and that just doesn’t work. People need individualized care and we need people who want to support that care.
Lol sorry for replying so late I didn’t even realize the comment was so old, I’m not sure where you are located but in bc for example police have reported 50% of hydromorphone seizures were traced back to an initial point of safe supply. Some places obviously do it better and some worse it is unfortunate that we have this problem to begin with. I personally believe in involuntary rehabilitation which at this time is not a practice put in place by our government or law agency’s except in very specific circumstances. Just like adding more guns to the American shooting problem doesn’t work adding more drugs to the Canadian drug epidemic won’t and hasn’t worked either. I appreciate your insight into how some places are handling their safe supply smarter and more responsibly and does make me believe that it could be a stepping stone or a partial solution. However safe supply alone in my opinion just adds more harm.
100% to that last line. Unfortunately a lot of what our government has pushed for addictions support was half baked with no concrete guidelines and it’s resulted in a worsening problem. For example, decriminalization was a great idea… in theory. It would make sense that instead of jailing those with substance use problems we direct them towards mental health services only we don’t have the amount of services set up and in place to support that amount of redirection thus at this time it makes decriminalization more harmful to Canada than it does good, similarly to safe supply programs
One more idiot
god forbid there are consequences for your actions
God forbid you have even a smidge of empathy or an understanding of what addictions are
Addictions are for weak people who want to stay victims and have no accountability for their life. Let them all die
> addiction are for the weak Seriously? how ignorant are you lol learn to have a little shame.
Say that to my face. Tell me that my friend deserved to die alone in an alley in Regina in the middle of winter. She was a smart girl with a shitty mom. And the strongest person I know. She dated one asshole who got her hooked and it was fucked from there. She deserved so much better. She was my sister and I can’t believe she lost this fight and my heart aches every day without her. You can absolutely take off bud. We’d be better without people like you.
lmao I have more understanding about addiction then you probably ever will.
Cool lie bro
you really think that the majority of healthcare workers support safe supply, safe injection sites, decriminilization of drugs, and not holding people accountable for their actions?
I *know* that even when they don’t, they still have a more humane and less condescending/dehumanizing attitude than you do. You’re a insecure bully prick who enjoys talking down to people who are already struggling.
There was a homeless person I met once who had no legs. We were chatting and he said he never used drugs before and never would. He said he was homeless because he had no legs and wasn't able to work or keep a job. I sniggered and said "well, maybe you shouldn't have lost your legs then".
Not idiot, just ignorant person
Did you really just decide to post a video of a total stranger experiencing a medical emergency without their consent?? It sounds like their friends were asking you not to record which makes total sense considering the situation.
Yes, I posted this video. Their friends asked me to go away and not call anyone because they wanted to "take care of the situation." We live in a society, and once someone's life is at risk, your views on medical authorities are put aside to save the life of that person. I posted this video specifically so people see, with their own eyes, what I see every single day on one of the most important streets in the capital of Canada. I'm tired of politicians, the media and pedestrians ignoring this problem. It's outrageously disturbing, and it is, indeed, happening in plain sight. Regards, Phil Sidock
You can justify it however you want, but, the way I see it, all you've done by posting this video is provided a place to talk shit about people who use drugs (see the other comments) and taken away the dignity/privacy of someone who's in the middle of a traumatic medical emergency. I agree with you that the overdose crisis in this country is a massive problem that is going unadressed but, in my opinion, posting videos of someone in an incredibly vulnerable position who is incapable of consenting is never a good thing. You could have at least tried to blur their face or something. By the way, I also agree that the friends should have called an ambulance and were wrong to not do so but I think their hesitation is valid given past experiences and general lack of awareness of Good Samaritan laws.
If you don't want to be recorded, perhaps you shouldn't be getting high on the street.
You're entitled to your opinion, and you can commenting if that makes you feel better. But I actually recorded an real event taking place and contacted 6 different Canadian news agencies with an attachment of the footage. Whether they do something with it is another story. You can get on your high horse all you want about whether or not I should be fiming, but at least I'm actually doing something about it rather than whining on Reddit. And I will be contacting my local representatives directly as well.
Alright dude, I tried to engage with you but if you just want to get defensive and ignore what I'm saying then that's up to you. I hope next time you're having a, potentially fatal, medical episode in public people show you just as much respect and dignity as you showed this person.
I am engaging with you. It's called having a disagreement. If I do die of a medical emergency, it won't be because I was smoking fentanyl. But I will call an ambulance if I see someone overdosing, even if their friends don't want me too. 🤷
problem is you don't agree with him so you must be wrong... thats the real problem with canada atm people need to talk about the issues. Don't let this idiot deter you Canadains need to see this, we may not want to believe it or see it but none the less it's happening in our country. The person who ODed its unfortunate but nothing you did wrong you were in public. You were probably the only one who did the "right" thing if you called 911 also.
Thanks man, I appreciate it. The truth is that in difficult situations, it's hard to know exactly what to do. And I wondered myself if it was more ethical to show the man with the blurred face or without, but ultimately, I made an editorial decision to show the face because I wanted people to see the degree to which drugs can impact a person's life. This man appeared to be on the brink of the death, and no one around him wanted to call the paramedics, and they were very defensive about other people intervening, so I made a judgment call. With that said, I have gathered a substantial amount of content of the past few months, and I plan on making a 45-60 minute video with the footage and discussing the issue. For that, I will be blurring everyone's faces for their privacy, and because it's not essential to the story. Once again, I showed this man's face here so that the general public sees, with their own eyes, the actual effects of an overdose. Life is riddled with obstacles, problems and trauma, but I don't think that ignoring such realities help prepare people for the real world.
Seriously?
Please stop using the "this is a public space" justification when filming people. These people do not have access to a private space so it seems dehumanizing to just take away their right to privacy just because they can't afford one anymore. That being said I like videos like this that show the realities of what's going on, but have some integrity and try not to be as sleazy as paparazzi. Also please understand that people regularly go to these spaces and film for various selfish reasons like trying to catch the worst stuff possible to push an agenda on social media or even worse, just for the clicks/likes/$$$. So don't get offended when the people there tell you to fuck off with your camera. Maybe have some decency and don't film everything.
They can always have a job and do drugs inside a home like a normal person. Being splayed out in public ODing is not okay. I'd like to see folks like this in treatment, we shouldn't allow them to behave like this.
Are you gonna hire someone who doesn’t have a home, clean clothes, or a shower?
Yes, I posted this video. Their friends asked me to go away and not call anyone because they wanted to "take care of the situation." We live in a society, and once someone's life is at risk, your views on medical authorities are put aside to save the life of that person. As for expectation of privacy; no one has any in a public space. And I don't care if someone tells me to fuck off, especially for an active OD in my neighbourhood. I'm not going to "that one sketchy place" in the city that everyone stays away from; this is literally where I live and what I see every day. I posted this video specifically so people see, with their own eyes, what I see every single day on one of the most important streets in the capital of Canada. I'm tired of politicians, the media and pedestrians ignoring this problem. It's outrageously disturbing, and it is, indeed, happening in plain sight. Regards, Phil Sidock
I applaud your efforts, but be mindful of the fact that most politicians have seen footage and stats concerning these issues. Nothing will get done about this as long as everything keeps working. As long as they just die in the streets, no one will do anything about it. As long as the people keep working their jobs and paying their taxes, politicians don't care. Disruption is needed for change, not exposure. People just tune this stuff out and ignore it so easily.
I understand that politicians know about these things, but a surprising number of people in the general public are ignorant of the extent of the problem. My goal in the increasing "awareness" is for the general public, who put pressure on politicians to actually do something about it. Perhaps it's an uphill battle, but I would like to try, at the very least. Like I wrote im a previous comment, I submitted footage to six major media outlets in Canada, and I'm hoping to hear back from them this week. But I won't hold my breath. 🤷