Prepared to go to jail, a Vancouver man plans to welcome customers to the grand opening of his mobile store selling illicit substances on May 1.
Jerry Martin, who has been sober for the better part of 15 years, says he spent about eight years on the street on the Downtown Eastside and knows how dangerous life can be for people who use drugs.
His new business, aptly named The Drugs Store, will offer a "safe supply" of illicit substances including heroin, cocaine, MDMA, and methamphetamine that has been tested to ensure they are free from harmful cuts, such as fentanyl, as well as buffs and adulterants.
In addition to providing "clean" drugs, the store also provides people who use drugs with a safe way of purchasing them. People purchasing illicit substances on the street face unsafe and possibly violent situations, explains Martin.
"There's a lot of predators out there. They're making women and other people do things that they don't want to do, whether they've got the money or not...you've got to meet them in an alley," he told V.I.A., adding that many people also get robbed during these exchanges.
While he's been searching for a brick-and-mortar location for his store, the Vancouver man will start selling illicit substances out of his 26-foot camper trailer for now.
One of Martin's brothers was "murdered a couple of decades ago in the drug trade" and he lost another to a drug overdose a few months ago.
"I found him under a bridge, and, you know, it's just not the way to go," he said.
The Drugs Store to offer a "safe supply" in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside
Martin told V.I.A. in a previous interview that customers who visit The Drugs Store must be over 18 and will be vetted to ensure that this isn't their first time using drugs and that they understand the risks involved with taking them.
There will also be information on detox and rehabilitation facilities as well as mental health resources, he said.
Martin could face jail time for operating the store, but he says the current laws do "more harm than good."
"If I lose, I will probably do a few years...that's the way it is," he said.
"But I think a couple of years out of my life to change a whole bunch of people's [lives] — I think that's worth it."
The B.C. government decriminalized the possession of small amounts of some illegal substances in January. People may carry up to a total of 2.5 grams of opioids such as heroin and fentanyl, as well as crack and powder cocaine, methamphetamine, and MDMA, also known as ecstasy.
Many critics of the pilot project say the threshold of substances that people may carry is too low and could encourage them to acquire stronger drugs. Others say it targets low-level street dealers who do not profit from the drugs they sell.
Overdose deaths in B.C. increased by over 25 per cent from 2020, with 1,765 deaths in 2020 and 2,224 overdose deaths in 2021.
With files from the Canadian Press
