The marketplace area of Ottawa, the stunning capital of Canada – the second biggest country globally and famed for its courteous citizens – presents a dystopic vision akin to a fusion of Mad Max and Trainspotting. Amidst the trendy boutique shops, sushi places, and high-end gin bars wander unfortunate individuals, their bodies distorted due to intense dependence on a powerful narcotic. Their zombified state, a stark resemblance to sufferers of rickets, is a horrifying manifestation of a rampant opioid crisis which has wreaked havoc on a noticeable, albeit minor portion of Canada’s drug-using society.
A year ago, I experienced a comparable urban hellscape in Vancouver’s East Hastings locality, a significant portion of downtown now overrun by opioid addicts. Ottawa isn’t the sole victim, with areas of charming Quebec City and commercial Toronto also ravaged. This isn’t the punitive United States; this is compassionate Canada.
Consider Canada, Margaret Atwood’s liberal homeland, blessed with bountiful mineral resources and lauded for its world-class healthcare and welfare systems. This wealthy nation attracts young Irish migrants by the thousands. Intertwined with this affluence, however, large sections of Canadian cities are suffering from synthetic opioids like fentanyl and oxycodone which are devastating vast parts of North America. This addiction has left hundreds of poverty-stricken men, and a few women, wandering the streets like somnambulists.
The opioid trade operates on a basic economic principle – they cause death but not instantaneously. Addicts can survive for a significant duration; a lucrative opportunity for dealers. With no respite, drug cartels continue to flood the North American market with this deadly substance.
In Ireland, housing is a prejudicial domain, with some finding it as a crippling expense, while others relish it as a burgeoning asset. To comprehend the origins of this opioid crisis, it’s crucial to delve into its historic context. In contrast to heroin, synthetic opioids are a recent menace. Until the 90s, American medical fraternity generally avoided opioids for pain management due to the outbreak of morphine addiction in the 1930s. However, as the focus switched towards effective pain management protocols in the mid-90s, traditional beliefs were upturned based on dubious studies from the 80s, suggesting that therapeutic use of opiate-based painkillers infrequently resulted in an addiction.
Essentially misled by the unsubstantiated “proof”, various branded opioids were produced and extensively promoted by pharmaceutical firms, notoriously depending on overstated assertions regarding the “non-dependency inducing characteristics” of these drugs. An elevation in opioid prescriptions by two to three million per annum was observed between 1990 and 1995. This rise was predominantly claimed to be amassed in the Appalachian region, covering rural areas of Kentucky and West Virginia, where medical professionals were trying to alleviate the enduring pain of labourers sustaining injuries from work in the local coal-mining and agricultural sectors. Barbara Kingsolver’s book “Demon Copperhead” provides an insightful, albeit unsettling, exploration of this issue.
As of 2016, artificial opioids surpassed heroin and prescription pain relievers as the principal culprits of opioid-associated overdoses [in the US]. From 2015 to 2020, the frequency of deaths caused by overdose of opioids (primarily fentanyl) doubled again. In 1995, OxyContin received FDA approval from Purdue Pharma, and their prescriptions expanded in the US, from 670,000 to 6.2 million yearly, from 1997 to 2002. Post this, an estimated 645,000 deaths has transpired due to opioid overdoses. The recent gloomy numbers from Ottawa follow a constant pattern of destruction that is now broken down into three stages.
The first wave hit around the year 2000, during which the death rate linked with opioid overdose amplified from 2.9 to 6.8 per 100,000 individuals. The subsequent wave, initiated in the year 2010, reported a steep spike in overdose fatalities involving heroin (which transformed into an economical alternative to over the counter prescription medications) and, from 2010-2016, deaths related to heroin use surged from one to 4.9 per 100,000.
The third phase commenced around 2013 and saw a considerable rise in overdose deaths caused by synthetic opioids, predominantly those involving unlawfully produced fentanyl. By 2016, artificial opioids had outdone both heroin and prescription analgesics as the top source of opioid-linked overdoses. The mortality rate due to opioid-associated overdoses (mainly fentanyl) has once again doubled between 2015 and 2020, from 10.4 to 21.4 per 100,000 individuals. This is what we are currently seeing on the urban roadways of North America.
In a nutshell, constructing luxurious houses for the affluent can ameliorate the housing crisis as it removes these wealthy individuals from the marketplace intended for homes traditionally set aside for the less fortunate.
The linkage between the opioid epidemic and the housing issue is a significant factor in the creation of decaying urban zones. This affects numerous English-speaking nations. Opioid addicts are progressively ending up on the streets due to an ongoing impact on the housing market. We are witnessing a surge in rich buyers purchasing homes that were formerly earmarked for the middle class because of the deficit of new homes of all types.
As indicated by the exposition from the previous week, these middle and upper-middle class individuals are now acquiring houses that were initially constructed for those less well-off. The less fortunate, who previously occupied these homes, are now being moved into the rental sector, competing for the limited spaces available. Those who were previously at the bottom of the rental market are being ousted and, as costs skyrocket, they find themselves homeless. They are the sad and despairing souls we see on the streets, miserably trapped in an opioid addiction cycle.
The issue of the ongoing displacement in the housing market often goes unnoticed by political figures and commentators. The solution, they believe, lies in constructing affordable or subsidised homes. This view, while logical, overlooks the complex nature of the housing market. Simply put, constructing luxurious villas for the wealthy can alleviate the housing predicament as it ensures these affluent individuals do not compete for a property originally assigned for the less wealthy. Building a diverse range of houses, both posh and affordable, is beneficial. While it may not provide for an impressive political soundbite, it remains an undeniable fact.
On a bleak note, opioid addicts find themselves in a vulnerable state, relegated to the streets of North American cities. Cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and Vancouver on the west coast, with their relatively more pleasant weather, tend to attract a higher number of homeless people, but the situation remains critical in other cities too. Ottawa, one of the world’s coldest capital cities, exacerbates the odds of survival for those affected by opioid addiction.
Official Canadian government data indicate that the country has recorded 42,494 opioid-associated deaths and 169,723 emergency department visits related to opioid poisoning since 2016. As of 2022, opioid overdose claims an average of 21 lives daily.
The heroin issue prevalent in the cities of Ireland mirrors a similar concern. Can you imagine the repercussions if Ireland were inundated with amounts of these opioids, which are 50 to 70 times more potent than morphine, equivalent to what North America is experiencing? The situation would surely be catastrophic.