Drugs Store – Location, Location, Location

Drugs Store – Location, Location, Location – a story by Liam Sweeny.

What is the wildest way to break the law in Canada? Riding a Mountie’s horse without permission? Riding a moose with or without permission? Trash talking Molson beer or hockey?

How about opening up a roadside drug store, i.e. a trailer where people can get anything they want – coke, crack, heroin, anything – and opening it up right in front of a cop van?

Yeah, that’ll do it, right? But this is exactly what Jerry Martin did.

There was a point here. He wasn’t just that stupid. Canada partially legalized most drugs, and after drug users had a parade, they found a problem. With the more lax nature of drug use, a bunch of unregulated, toxix drugs hit the street. Drugs cut with nasty stuff, laced with fentanyl, etc. There is no safe supply for this now-legal market.

So Jerry Martin created a “drugs store” – a trailer with a bulletproof Plexiglas window. He sold every drug someone could get on the street, and at street prices, which for Canada in June (when this happened) 2.5 grams of crack for $300.

Guess how long it took the Canadian cops to arrest him? Less than twenty-four hours. And while I’ve seen no mention of it, it’s probable that this demonstration turned into a slap on the wrist.

Sad part of this story is that Martin died a few months ago from a fentanyl overdose, the exact thing he was demonstrating about. A sad tale. Hopefully his wild stunt makes a difference down the road.

This does bring up an important issue, even in America. Eventually, we’ll decriminalize most drugs. Younger generations are going to take over, and they didn’t see their drug-cooked brains in a frying pan.

Does marijuana have it right in the states that legalized it? Dispensaries and commercial farming? Would this model work for coca leaves? Chemically synthesized drugs? Is reducing harm from unintentional overdoses worth legitimizing a drug that’s addictive and dangerous?

I guess we all decide.

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