The uncomfortable reality is that the City of Oshawa is suffering from a rampant drug problem. The drug houses and drug dealers making illicit drugs increasingly available in Oshawa are far greater here than in any of the other Durham Region lakeshore municipalities.
This problem must be faced by Oshawa City Council. How to take back the City begins with Oshawa, landlords, neighbours and businesses demanding Drug Reduction measures be undertaken.
Irrespective of those calling out that the War on Drugs is Over, unwilling to face the reality that yesterday’s narrative putting Harm Reduction/ Safe Injection Sites on a pedestal as the solution, belies the fact that after more than 40 years the number of people addicted to illicit drugs continues to rise exponentially. They like to add Drug Decriminalization into the mix presenting pseudo realities when the reality is that Oshawa, its people, businesses, organizations and institutions are suffering. Measurable DRUG REDUCTION and DRUG ABUSE EDUCATION is needed.
“Over the last decade, there has been a diversification in the substances available on the drug markets. In addition to traditional plant-based substances (cannabis, cocaine and heroin), the last decade has witnessed the expansion of a dynamic market for synthetic drugs and of the non- medical use of pharmaceutical drugs. Drugs are more potent nowadays and their increasing availability and consecutive or sequential use among occasional or regular users pose an even greater challenge than in the past to the prevention of drug use, treatment of drug use disorders and addressing the adverse health consequences thereof.*(43)
In recent years, hundreds of new psychoactive substances have been synthesized. The majority are stimulants, followed by cannabinoids and an increasing number of opioids, with unpredictable and sometimes severe negative health consequences, including death. The harm from use of new psychoactive substances is more noticeable at the individual level than at the population level, with the exception of new psychoactive substances-opioids such as fentanyl analogues.”
*(43) See, for instance, UNODC, World Drug Report 2019, booklets 3, 4 and 5 (United Nations publication, 2019).
‘New psychoactive substances, are often referred to as designer drugs, and although termed new, many have been around for decades, some synthesized or patented in the 1970s or even earlier.”
FYI about a recent large shipment of FLAKKA and CROCODIL in Oshawa:
CROCODIL or Krokodil
“It’s a man-made form of morphine and about 10 times stronger.
It’s a combination of several harmful chemicals including codeine, iodine, gasoline, paint thinner, lighter fluid and others.
Users inject it into the bloodstream, and it has a rapid and brief effect.
It is an Opioid and named for the crocodile-like appearance it creates on the skin. Over time, it damages blood vessels and causes the skin to become green and scaly. The tissue damage can lead to gangrene and result in amputation or death.”
FLAKKA
"This designer drug is similar to bath salts. It is a pale-hued crystal that users eat, snort, inject, or vaporize using an e-cigarette device.
It might also be referred to as Gravel, because of the way it looks.
It is like bath salts (see below) and also contains synthetic cathinone. "The drug has a stimulant-like effect but can cause paranoia, hallucinations, and can lead to violence or self-harm. It’s been linked to deaths due to heart attack, suicide, and kidney damage or kidney failure."
BATH SALTS
"These designer drugs came on the scene fairly recently and became popular fast. That may be because they were easy to get and used to be hard to detect in drug tests.
They're highly addictive, and they come in a crystalline powder that users swallow, inhale, or inject.
Despite their name, bath salts have nothing in common with products you can use for a soak in the tub. What else they’re called: Plant Food, Bloom, Cloud Nine, Ivory Wave, Lunar Wave, Scarface, Vanilla Sky, or White Lightning.
Bath salts contain manmade stimulants called cathinones, which are similar to amphetamines. The effects: These stimulants increase levels of dopamine, a brain chemical that can create feelings of euphoria.
Some say the effects are similar to cocaine or methamphetamines. But they’re even more likely to cause serious health effects, including:
Violence, Paranoia, Agitation, Hallucinations, Psychosis, Racing heart, High blood pressure, Chest pain, Panic attacks, Dehydration, Kidney failure, Death”
This problem must be faced by Oshawa City Council. How to take back the City begins with Oshawa, landlords, neighbours and businesses demanding Drug Reduction measures be undertaken.
Irrespective of those calling out that the War on Drugs is Over, unwilling to face the reality that yesterday’s narrative putting Harm Reduction/ Safe Injection Sites on a pedestal as the solution, belies the fact that after more than 40 years the number of people addicted to illicit drugs continues to rise exponentially. They like to add Drug Decriminalization into the mix presenting pseudo realities when the reality is that Oshawa, its people, businesses, organizations and institutions are suffering. Measurable DRUG REDUCTION and DRUG ABUSE EDUCATION is needed.
“Over the last decade, there has been a diversification in the substances available on the drug markets. In addition to traditional plant-based substances (cannabis, cocaine and heroin), the last decade has witnessed the expansion of a dynamic market for synthetic drugs and of the non- medical use of pharmaceutical drugs. Drugs are more potent nowadays and their increasing availability and consecutive or sequential use among occasional or regular users pose an even greater challenge than in the past to the prevention of drug use, treatment of drug use disorders and addressing the adverse health consequences thereof.*(43)
In recent years, hundreds of new psychoactive substances have been synthesized. The majority are stimulants, followed by cannabinoids and an increasing number of opioids, with unpredictable and sometimes severe negative health consequences, including death. The harm from use of new psychoactive substances is more noticeable at the individual level than at the population level, with the exception of new psychoactive substances-opioids such as fentanyl analogues.”
*(43) See, for instance, UNODC, World Drug Report 2019, booklets 3, 4 and 5 (United Nations publication, 2019).
‘New psychoactive substances, are often referred to as designer drugs, and although termed new, many have been around for decades, some synthesized or patented in the 1970s or even earlier.”
FYI about a recent large shipment of FLAKKA and CROCODIL in Oshawa:
CROCODIL or Krokodil
“It’s a man-made form of morphine and about 10 times stronger.
It’s a combination of several harmful chemicals including codeine, iodine, gasoline, paint thinner, lighter fluid and others.
Users inject it into the bloodstream, and it has a rapid and brief effect.
It is an Opioid and named for the crocodile-like appearance it creates on the skin. Over time, it damages blood vessels and causes the skin to become green and scaly. The tissue damage can lead to gangrene and result in amputation or death.”
FLAKKA
"This designer drug is similar to bath salts. It is a pale-hued crystal that users eat, snort, inject, or vaporize using an e-cigarette device.
It might also be referred to as Gravel, because of the way it looks.
It is like bath salts (see below) and also contains synthetic cathinone. "The drug has a stimulant-like effect but can cause paranoia, hallucinations, and can lead to violence or self-harm. It’s been linked to deaths due to heart attack, suicide, and kidney damage or kidney failure."
BATH SALTS
"These designer drugs came on the scene fairly recently and became popular fast. That may be because they were easy to get and used to be hard to detect in drug tests.
They're highly addictive, and they come in a crystalline powder that users swallow, inhale, or inject.
Despite their name, bath salts have nothing in common with products you can use for a soak in the tub. What else they’re called: Plant Food, Bloom, Cloud Nine, Ivory Wave, Lunar Wave, Scarface, Vanilla Sky, or White Lightning.
Bath salts contain manmade stimulants called cathinones, which are similar to amphetamines. The effects: These stimulants increase levels of dopamine, a brain chemical that can create feelings of euphoria.
Some say the effects are similar to cocaine or methamphetamines. But they’re even more likely to cause serious health effects, including:
Violence, Paranoia, Agitation, Hallucinations, Psychosis, Racing heart, High blood pressure, Chest pain, Panic attacks, Dehydration, Kidney failure, Death”
