Health officials in both Canadian cities hosting World Cup matches are warning visitors about the potential risk of the toxic illicit drug supply that could be very different from what they are used to at home.
Organizers of the seven games in Vancouver released a “know before you go” document in advance of kickoff, which in part warns visitors about B.C.’s illicit drug supply which has killed more than 16,000 people since a public health emergency was declared in 2016.
“The unregulated drug supply in Vancouver is unpredictable and may be more dangerous than what visitors are used to in other countries or regions. Even a very small amount of an unregulated substance — including opioids, cocaine, MDMA/ecstasy, ketamine, counterfeit pills, or other drugs — could contain fentanyl or other toxic contaminants and can cause overdose or death,” it says.
The BC Centre for Disease Control published a risk assessment for the games, labelling harms from substance use, including toxic drug overdoses and alcohol consumption, as “moderate risk,” calling the drug supply “very toxic and unpredictable.”
Toronto Public Health spokesperson Dane Griffiths said in a statement that Toronto’s unregulated drug supply is “extremely toxic and unpredictable and could be different from where tourists are visiting from.”
He said the agency is working with the city and others to prioritize public health at the World Cup, monitoring substance use trends and supporting harm reduction services.
People using substances in both cities are being urged to start with a low dose and pace their use slowly, use a drug-checking service in advance, carry naloxone and call 911 if someone overdoses.
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Toronto Public Health notes that under Canada’s Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act, people seeking help for themselves or someone else who has overdosed will not be charged with possessing or using drugs, nor will anyone else at the scene.
Dr. Mark Lysyshyn, the deputy chief medical health officer of Vancouver Coastal Health, said the authority will be campaigning on social media to warn people about the risks.
“We have been in this public health emergency for the past 10 years, people coming from Europe and other places that don’t really have the same problem, might be unfamiliar, and so we do want to let people know,” he said.
However, Lysyshyn noted that overall, those most at risk from the drug supply live in the province.
“(They are) B.C. residents who continue to die at high rates. It’s not frequent that travellers to British Columbia die of overdoses.”
The over consumption of alcohol has health officials more concerned, Lysyshyn said.
“These World Cup events are associated with a lot of alcohol use. Alcohol use in crowds can lead to violence, both in crowd settings, but also can lead to other types of violence,” he said.
Sarah Blyth, the executive director of the Overdose Prevention Society, which runs a supervised consumption site and offers services like drug testing in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, said even people from places with toxic drug supplies should be aware, because the type of deadly contamination can vary from province to province and country to country.
“If it’s lethal in one city, it can be lethal in a different way in another, and so people really, when they go out, they have to understand that if they get handed a pill, people can die here by taking a pill,” she said.
Blyth said this type of education and awareness for major events is important. She’s not sure if her organization will see an increase in people wanting to get their drugs tested for contaminants, but that they are prepared to help.
“I would hope that people would get their drugs tested if they decide that they’re going to use them, because it’s not safe otherwise,” she said.
Tara Gomes, an epidemiologist and the principal investigator of the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network, said Toronto’s drug supply is dominated by fentanyl, while other substances, like veterinary tranquillizers, are increasingly cropping up.
She’s concerned the well-being of people living in Toronto who use drugs is being overlooked.
The first of six World Cup matches in Toronto kicks off on June 12, the day before the province stops paying for eight remaining publicly funded supervised consumption sites.
Gomes said she expects the “terrible timing” to displace people who use drugs, as celebrations cause crowding in the city.
“There could be an enormous and devastating impact on their safety and their risk level when using drugs throughout the World Cup and then into the future,” Gomes said.
She said she worries that the fanfare from around the world could put more pressure on the “already overstretched” harm reduction programs in the city.
“From my perspective, the World Cup is a global event — it puts us on an international stage,” Gomes said.
“We should be creating safety nets for people in that time instead of what really feels like pulling the rug out from under so many people who use drugs within the city.”
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