'Mostly in the coke': Head shop owner in central Nlfd. warns about fentanyl

A Grand Falls-Windsor man who's seen urban drug abuse at its worst says central Newfoundland must domore to brace for the fallout from fentanyland other street drugs.

Rodney White ownsa store called Nasty Habits. It sells bongs, rolling papers and rock and roll t-shirts. It's what many people call a "head shop."

White has also seen some hard times.

I lived in crack houses and bounced around in downtownToronto.- Rodney White

"When I was 18 years-old until I was about 23, I lived in crack houses and bounced around in downtownToronto," said White.

"I was homeless for a few years. You see the worst of the worst there, right? People getting robbed at gunpoint, peoplegetting beat up within an inch of their lives."

Back in Newfoundland now, White is keeping himself busy with his shop and a marijuana dispensary he's opening next door called Nova Budds. It'spart of a Canadianchain of businesses.

He knows a lot of people who use drugs in central Newfoundland and he's worried that the risk of a potentially deadly fentanyl overdoseis increasing.

Fentanyl in central Newfoundland

7 years ago

Duration 1:06

A head shop owner in central is warning others about fentanyl.

"I know more people who do drugsthan people who don't do drugs I should saymore people who do coke than don't do coke," he said.

"I've seen people overdose from crack and heroinbut never on coke in the past but now you are hearing about it all the time, right?"

Lots of talk about overdoses

White thinks he knows why.

"Fentanyl is mostly in the coke. Heroinis not really being used much here but there is a big problem with the coke."

White says people who use drugs are talking about it.

"Every week you are hearing about somebody knowing somebody that overdosed or somebody you know overdosed," he said.

Central Health says it is seeing patients who've overdosed after beingexposed tofentanylbut White says it's happening more often than health officials know.

"They see a couple of people but not everyonewho overdoses, or almost overdoses, goes to the hospital. Most people I know won't step foot in a hospital," said White.

White believes in keeping drug users safe. When he goes to St. John's he visits the Tommy Sexton Centre, picks up clean needle kits at SWAP, the Safe Works Access Program, and then redistributes them from his shop in Grand Falls-Windsor.

"I know from experience what people will do to get a needle. In Toronto I saw people go through hospital garbage to find a needle to re-use," he said.

White wants to get his hands on some naloxonetoo. Naloxoneis an antidote to fentanyl. It can stopa potentially deadly narcotic overdose.

"I'm trying to get naloxonekits but I think they are just going to give them to me to pass out. But yeah they definitely need to start passing them out to everybody." he said.

Doctor concerned about public safety

Dr. Jeff Cole is an anesthetistwho works in a chronic pain management clinic in Grand Falls-Windsor. He's also the vice-president of medical services for Central Health.

He says fentanylhas been used on patients during surgery in operating rooms for decades but now he worries that mixing it with street drugs is a growing problem.

"If you get the ratio wrong and put in justa little bit too much you can get into serious overdose consequences very quickly. Which is what we have been seeing and our primary concern is making those people safe," he said

Cole said in the past Newfoundland and Labrador hasn't seen the kind of cocaine and injectiondrug abuse problems that other provinces have but that's changing.

"Traditionally we always thought we didn't have that problem and that it was a mainland or western Canada problem but we're seeing that people are moving into those more hardcore drugs," he said.

"The big concern right now is public safety for people overdosing on a drug that they would normally take and expect to be safe with not knowing that fentanyl is mixed in."

Cole said it has led to overdoses in central Newfoundland. He said a recent overdose in the Lewisportearea is believed to be fentanylrelated.

Sometimes a delay in treatment can be life threatening.- Jeff Cole

CBC News has asked for more details about that case and the number of fentanyl-related overdosesin the Central Health area.

"We've had a couple of cases," Cole said.

"So we aredoing our best now to access the availability of the naloxone kits and make sure they are distributed to the right people. Naloxone should be in the hands of either the people who are at riskor their close associates. Sometimes a delay in treatment can be life threatening."

Cole said the kits are now in Central Healthambulances and clinics.

"We had 200 come in recently and we distributed those to the front line but I don't think we had enough kits at that time to get them into the hands of the people on the street," he said.

"So that is definitely the next phase a broader distribution and have them more availableto we don't hear about the tragedies."

Radical solution

Rodney White will be happy to hear that but really he thinks a more radical solution is necessary.

White says legalize all drugs like cocaine and heroin sell them over the counter in pharmacies and tax them.

• Legalizing all drugs would be good for Canada, according to Toronto Liberal MP

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He saidthat way the quality of the drugs can be controlled so users have access to a safe supply anddon't have to risk their lives buying dangerous drugs from unscrupulous dealers.