CKNW @CKNW
Coroner: Monteith died of a mixed-drug toxicity, involving heroin/ alcohol. Results did not indicate any presence of the drug fentanyl.

Heroin can be injected, or it can be freebased (not quite the same as smoking). It's an opiate and functions in the body similar to endorphins (fun fact that we might not remember from highschool; Endorphins are named so because of Morphine--another pseduo-opiate. ENDOgenous moRPHINe).

Cocaine can be snorted or smoked when in crack form. It comes in several types and is not an opioid despite popular beliefs otherwise.


Cocaine is a higher high that produces much lower lows in a much shorter time. It basically amps you up and drops you back down within half an hour give or take. The ups and downs get more severe as you continue to use, because your body develops a tolerance for it. This results in continuously increasing doses, or lower highs. Over a long period of time it will also result in motor skills impairment (the 'tweakers' that everyone's so familiar with).

Heroin is an opiate which results in a lower longer high, not too dissimilar to a much stronger runner's high. It's typically known as the "hundred dollar a day" habit, which is much less bad than cocaine (typically $20-30 for a few hours' worth of supply at best). Heroin when injected is quite hazardous because you can never be sure what the purity is, nor what it's been cut with meaning you can either overdose or poison yourself with very little difficulty. Freebasing on the other hand is taking the non-liquid powder form of heroin and heating it on a surface, while inhaling the fumes. The highs are much less high, but the chances of overdose are also much lower.



And no, I'm neither an addict nor a professional. My uncle is an Anthropology professor and has done quite a bit of research on the DTES and set up a few test programs while doing postgrad work. He still lives there now and is the source of a lot of my information in and around there.

Graeme...that reads like "drugs for dummies" book.

So many people must look so stupid their first night saying, "I wanna get high, I just don't know how"

It basically is. So many fucking people have so many fucking misconceptions about drugs. Are drugs bad? Yes. Are drugs worse than they could/should be? Yes. Is that because they're not regulated? YES, YES, YES.


I fucking wish we could regulate it if for no other reason than just to say "Okay, it's under someone's control now. You can only purchase a certain amount within a certain time, and if not we're going to say you have a medically-based problem which will get medically-based treatments". Sending drug addicts to jail does fuck all except teach them to be better criminals. And the fact that celebrities can essentially get away scot free with drugs is not helping things at all either.

Just gonna set this down here...

Outrage over Calgary Herald editor blaming Vancouver for killing Cory Monteith | Vancity Buzz | Vancouver Blog

This chick is a tit.

But I do agree with what she says here, "Heck, ask virtually any informed person across the country and they’d be able to tell you that if you want to go on a seedy trip of your choosing — be it a heroin holiday or a crack cocaine carousal — just head down to East Hastings Street and you will find what you’re looking for with no risk of arrest."

If you were desperate for drugs, just head to the DTES....and she is right, would you be afraid of getting arrested? Hell no. Anywhere else? Most likely.

i don't think vancouver is particularly any different to any canadian city - really easy to get drugs if you go to the right neighbourhood, lower chance, i would imagine, of getting shot than in a major US city, and very low chance of hte police doing shit about it (i've seen a drug deal in yaletown on richards... police saw it, stoped, flashed lights/sirens, the two participants of teh deal walk the opposite way, police left. i was disgusted that this is what the police do, but in hindsight can see why - judges won't do shit, problem is way too big.

drugs are a real drain on this earth and on society.

I was working in the yard on a sat morning and see this guy hovering around at the corner. Drives a hoopty ass parisienne, land whale limited edition in shit brown. People come up, and leave. Several different groups of people from the same building, like he's the official drug sponsor of "elliot apartments". I hear some kids ask, "shouldn't we be off the street?"

"No man, I just pretend to be looking at rental signs"

I was close enough to hear this. No concern, no hiding in shadows.

I never saw him or the car again, so I don't know what happened to the drug trade, but they did kick everyone out next door.

I was standing there thinking, I should call someone. But, are they going to care? No. Why hide in the shadows when you can stand in the street.
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Another article from Calgary:

Martinuk: Vancouver?s attitude toward drugs created haven for Monteith

If you're a celeb with big coin though, you don't have to go to the DTES... to quote Nickelback, "Everybody's got a drug dealer on speed dial." You have that shit delivered, and nobody gives a second glance.

Not talking about celebs....I am pretty sure the DTES is the last place Monteith would go to find heroin.

But think about it...say today is the say you start chasing the dragon...take 30 min skytrain trip to the DTES and hit someone up. The cops would be the last people I'd be worried about encountering down there...

I am not knocking the VPD...as 4444 said, I am sure they are just as frustrated as us...they can arrest away but it won't mean shit. If nobody else cares, it is hard for them to...to them, I am sure it is just more paper work all for a judge issuing a "promise to appear" or "probation".

Maybe we are too forgiving on the drugs.

Seriously. The city had a problem with this shit happening in the alleys. What did we do? We put up boxes for the needles and cleaned the alleys.

We had a problem with people od'ing on the street. We opened Insite and most of the city felt good enough about themselves that we were doing something to help.

Right now, we talk around the idea of doing something for some social housing, but it seems to always be the next project, because the land is just a hair to valuable this time.

Maybe we are becoming apathetic to the idea that people are using this shit each and every day.

BUT:

1. Can't jail 'em
2. Can't arrest 'em
3. According to VANDU, we can't actually ask them to stop using 'em
4. Can't force 'em into rehab
5. According to Conservatives, Insite promotes it, so we can't reduce risk for 'em

So, we continue to clean up the mess, and get pissed off if people say that there are too many drugs and its too easy to get in Vancouver.

It is. That's the fucking problem.

Better start a war on drugs here because that certainly works.
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But that was kind of the point of the article, or at least its premise: that it was too easy for Cory to find drugs here, and that this wouldn't have happened in another city... when the fact is, he could have had his fix flown in FROM anywhere, TO anywhere.

ah

i read the article as it had nothing to do with his celebrity status...anyone can find drugs easily here because of the DTES.

doesn't matter though...shitty article by a shitty "journalist"

One of my former friends got addicted to heroin.

Had never seen someone get so thin in a matter of months.