'I'm tired of watching people die': Organizer of march to end overdose deaths demands action

About 150 people marched in downtown Toronto on Tuesday to demand all levels of government take action to prevent more drug overdose deaths.

The march, which began at Bay Street and Wellesley Street West, was held on the first national day of action to end the overdose epidemic. The day of action is being organized by Canadian Association of People who Use Drugs, a group of people who say they have "lived experience."

• Frontline worker has watched friends, clients die as overdoses climb in Toronto

Marches are also scheduled on Tuesday in Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo, B.C., Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa and Montreal.

Toronto march organizer Zoe Dodd, a harm reduction worker, saidthe number of deaths from drug overdoses has reached unprecedented levelsin Canada.

"We're here because thousands of people have died of drug overdoses in Canada," Dodd said.

"We're here because governments on all levels, locally, provincially, federally, have been slow to act. Well, we're in the midst of a crisis.

"Over 900people have died in the province of B.C. One person dies every 13 hoursherein Ontario. Hundreds of peoplehave died in this city. And we're tired of it," she said.

"We have lost so many of our friends, people we work with, people we know, our family members. So we are gathering here to demand action."

Dodd said the war on drugs is really a war on people. She said members of the association have come up with solutions to the problem of overdose deaths but elected representatives are not acting quickly enough.

"We think they are not doing enough," she said.

Shesaid the marches are being held to call for better laws governing drug use across the country.

According to a newsrelease, the association wantsgovernments to:

• decriminalizedrug possession;
• grantimmediate exemptions to all organizations that want to run supervised drug injection sites;
• increasefunding for harm reduction resources and services;
• expandaccess to what it calls opioidsubstitutiontherapy, which involves supplyingdrug users with a replacement drug as part of treatment for addiction.

"We need millions of dollars on the ground to people who are working in the midst of this," Dodd said.

"For me, this is a really important issue. I'm heartbroken. I have so much pain and grief. I'm tired of watching people die. It's preventable. All of this is preventable. People's lives have value."

The marches across the country are expected to draw supporters fromdrug user advocacy organizations, municipal emergency services, health care providers, and people who have lost loved ones.

Toronto's march stoppedatan Ontario health ministry officeand Toronto Police Serviceheadquarters.