Occupy Vancouver and its Drug Problem…

It was the 15th of October, the first day of Occupy Vancouver. I was walking onto the grounds and immediately began to smell marijuana smoke wafting across the stage. It was a couple of hours before anything was planned, so I didn’t really pay too much attention to it.  But, as the day continued, it became obvious that this would become a problem.

A couple days later, I spent my day greeting newcomers- sharing with them why I came to OV, and what other people in the movement were motivated by. I found a couple of card-carrying conservatives- talking to them, it was obvious they were at OV for bedlam. There are a lot of visitors who come for this reason- particularly during the first week.

I started to explain to them I am there because “I cannot afford to take care of my parents when their pension disappears.” That got their attention! Then, I explained to them the story about Iceland, and how they were able to default their national debt and still survive. That got their attention! Then, moments later, someone lit a joint, and the couple hightailed it out of there…

Then there was the day of the day of the first overdose. I remember seeing it mentioned on @ScanBC’s Twitter stream a few minutes after it was discovered. My heart sank, this didn’t sound very good. Luckily, one of our heroic medic volunteers saved this person’s life. But, it was obviously time to stand up and say something.

So, I get onto the Facebook page and suggest we take some action. I started a poll asking if we should allow users of hard drugs to stay on the OV grounds- or, should we give them the option to send them off to a recovery program or leave.  The majority of people online agreed at the time that it was not acceptable for them to stay. But, there was a vocal minority who disagreed very strongly. The conversation went on for two days, without resolution, then was (without warning) erased on Saturday at the time of the next overdose.

I also found news of this incident through ScanBC on Twitter- knew it happened before many people in the camp did. And, this time was tragic- she had passed away in our tent. Until today, we didn’t know the cause of her death- but it was released this afternoon that she died from a mix of heroin and cocaine. They found a crack pipe in here pocket- what a senseless waste of a human life…

So, here we are- two confirmed overdoses, and one fatality- yet there is still a reluctance to take action at the camp. The vast majority of Occupy locations have a strict no-drugs policy, but Vancouver still hasn’t got that far. We are just too damn politically correct to make a move like this- rather unfortunate, isn’t it?

If there is to be an Occupy Vancouver 2.0,  it is my hope/understanding that it will begin having a code of conduct. Had we only taken this suggestion a while ago, perhaps things would be better today…