News Article: Botchford died of overdose of cocaine and fentanyl

[m9]

Unbelievably sad and tragic for Botch’s family, and deeply brave to go public.
I’ve lived in the DTES for the last 18 years, have worked in addictions and recovery for 25 years, and just published a book about Recovery. This sadly doesn’t surprise me at all, and nothing to do with Botch himself. The vast number of overdoses in BC (67 parademic calls for OD per day) happen in the DTES, but it is not where we are seeing the most deaths, paradoxically. People look out for each other here, much drug use is out in the open (in harm reduction sites or on the streets) and most everyone carries a Narcan kit, or at least knows what to do when they find someone comatose. In other neighbourhoods people use drugs that they may not know have been laced with Fentanyl, and often use alone and in secret, so they frequently die when they od. (During Covid there has been a spike of deaths in the DTES, in part because of the isolation).
Safe supply and decriminalisation is one part of the answer, surely, as is an investment in mental health care and detox and treatment on demand. But there is more. The way we create community together is a huge part of helping people process pain and displacement, two major factors in drug addiction.
Hoping that if anyone is reading this thread and going through some really hard stuff they would feel ok to seek help. Hell, message me if you like.

I have family and close friends who have spent large portions of their life in the DTES as drug addicts and have come out the other side and are doing okay. Thanks for doing what you do.

 

[LuckyDay]

Weird how the US will go and wage war to countries with oil, but can't send the troops in to face the cartels. I mean, just the sheer amount of cash they siphon out of the US economy should be reason enough, let alone the countless murders and stronghold on an entire country. If the cartels were obliterated, one would think the global drug trade would be significantly affected. I imagine someone would fill those shoes, but in the meantime, the price of coke going from being quite expensive, to priced out for majority of people... an interesting thought. Not saying, I'm pro-Mexican invasion for the cartels. I'm just wonderin' here.

They did on Columbia with the support of their government

 

[bandwagonesque]

Simply put, the fentanyl is there to make coke stronger and more addictive. More addictive = more money for everyone, even when people are dying from it.

The only sources that I've ever seen claim this are anti-drug websites managed by government agencies, anti-drug NGOs advocacy groups and rehab clinics, which tend to be hilariously alarmist and get basic facts wrong all the time, and the actual quotes are usually from prosecutors and attorneys general rather than people who actually have hands-on knowledge of how cartels operate. As far as I've seen, no one has produced any evidence that the contamination is deliberate.

 

[bobbyb2009]

Almost everyone I know has used coke, and a significant proportion of the people I know, depending on their mood, would do a line at a social gathering if the evening was winding down and it was offered. Almost none ever buy it or seek it out, however. I don't think simply using this drug really implies much about a person. It's one of many recreational drugs you can take if circumstances allow and you have the spare time, and lots of people use it in moderation. The very idea of attaching a stigma to it, or assuming there is one, seems strange to me.

Wow- you have an interesting circle of friends. Not being judgy, but very few people in my life have ever used coke. Although a few close ones have an addiction to it.

As someone above said, we all make huge mistakes. All of us. And we all are "sinners" in some way or another, as they say. What always gets me is how society judges some people so harshly for some things and almost not at all for others. It seems to have very little reasoning behind it. What is a huge mistake to one doesn't seem to be to another, and vice versa.

Drug use is tough on so many people. It ripples through our society in a bunch of ways. And then a stigma is created around those who ask for help. Some people asking get support and an outpouring of love, while others get shunned from society. The whole thing about society judging others for their sins in unequal and disproportionate ways is a struggle for me to understand.

I think Botchford was a very talented guy. He was funny and likeable at times, and a complete arrogant prick at other times, but I was a huge fan. And yes, I had met him a bunch of times in the past. He deserves all kinds of accolades for his work, and his family deserves all kinds of support now. Others in his situation deserve that same support.

I just don't understand the different ways "we" treat people and how we decide Good or Bad.

 

[nowhereman]

I wonder how much of Botchford's drug issues might have been fuelled by his career path.

You would be blown away by how rampant drugs are in the entertainment industry and I don't mean at the top, with hard-parting actors and producers. When I started on the crew side in the film industry, the amount of coke and speed making the rounds on set was unreal... grips, electrics, teamsters, locations and so on. But it is an industry hallmarked by 15 hour days, it was seen as a way of coping with the insane hours and stress. It wasn't all that much better when I moved into the commercial/agency space, where many of the creatives on my team were popping pills and snorting lines to get through a 90-100 hour work week. I have several friends in journalism who claim that it's not all that much different in their world, either.

Botch seemed like a workaholic; he travelled constantly, stayed up all hours of night writing his articles/reviewing tape and seemed to be growing his brand by the day. I commend him for how hard a grind the guy went through to get to his level of respect and status but sometimes these things can take a toll on you and you pay a price. I do wonder if that might have been the case with Botch.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Tragic news. Courageous decision by the Botchford family to share it; hopefully someone else sees this and stops before going over that ledge.

 

[Paulinvancouver]

Not the place for me to bring up my experiences with Jason again, but it’s sad to see anyone go to Fentanyl.

 

[krutovsdonut]

this goes in a separate life category. drug use touches all of us. i've lost friends and family to it and learned the hard way the limits of what can be done about it by anyone but the user. this was a devastating loss for his wife and young children not only to have that emptiness where a father should be but also to have this be the secret reason for it and to have to process that. i understand why they felt the need to say it out loud so people knew and it was not a secret.

my respect to his family for announcing it. i hope that it helps them find a measure of peace and closure, and i hope it has a positive effect among those who followed his work who might have the same weaknesses. my simple suggestion on drugs is do not ever go there in case you are one of those people who cannot stop. i've known those people. despite my best efforts, there's an empty place in my heart where my feelings for them used to be.

 

[Burke's Evil Spirit]

Blaming this on drug laws tells me you're the one that's being naive here. Marijuana has been fully legalized for years and the black market for it is still thriving. The same thing would happen with other drugs if they were legalized too.

Not the forum for this, but safe supply is not the same thing as decriminalization, and marijuana and cocaine are very different beasts.

 

[Disappointed EP40]

I wonder how much of Botchford's drug issues might have been fuelled by his career path.

You would be blown away by how rampant drugs are in the entertainment industry and I don't mean at the top, with hard-parting actors and producers. When I started on the crew side in the film industry, the amount of coke and speed making the rounds on set was unreal... grips, electrics, teamsters, locations and so on. But it is an industry hallmarked by 15 hour days, it was seen as a way of coping with the insane hours and stress. It wasn't all that much better when I moved into the commercial/agency space, where many of the creati es on my team were popping pills and snorting lines to get through a 90-100 hour work week. I have several friends in journalism who claim that it's not all that much different in their world, either.

Botch seemed like a workaholic; he travelled constantly, stayed up all hours of night writing his articles/reviewing tape and seemed to be growing his brand by the day. I commend him for how hard a grind the guy went through to get to his level of respect and status but sometimes these things can take a toll on you and you pay a price. I do wonder if that might have been the case with Botch.

I'm also in film. People do it on set a lot. From the PAs to the directors. I'd say the bar/club would be tops for drugs, followed by film.

 

[logan5]

Wow- you have an interesting circle of friends. Not being judgy, but very few people in my life have ever used coke. Although a few close ones have an addiction to it.

Welp, you must be part of a fringe group. Cocaine use and drug use in general is rampant. President Obama and President Bush did coke.

I live in Mt. Pleasant, and I can tell you almost everybody in this neighbourhood does it to some extent.

 

[Diamonddog01]

Welp, you must be part of a fringe group. Cocaine use and drug use in general is rampant. President Obama and President Bush did coke.

I live in Mt. Pleasant, and I can tell you almost everybody in this neighbourhood does it to some extent.

I also live in Mount Pleasant and I wouldn't say almost everybody but apart from that overall I agree with that you've posted.

 

[RandV]

I hear you. But I would say that no one completely appreciates the complexity of chemical addiction. It begins as a choice and ends as a need.
This comment isn’t specific to Botch because we don’t no enough details. It is a general comment as is yours.

Yes and I think another prudent comparison to make with Covid-19 is when it became apparent what was going we shut down the economy and began immense government assistance. I'd imagine if we simply did nothing thne Covid-19 deaths would have easily outpaced overdose deaths here.

 

[bandwagonesque]

Not being judgy, but very few people in my life have ever used coke. Although a few close ones have an addiction to it.

This accounting of your friends' habits seems a bit naive. Maybe the friends you've noticed have problems with cocaine are the only ones who accordingly weren't able to hide the fact they were using it. Anyway, I think most people who try it don't like it and don't ever use it for more than an evening at a time.

 

[I am toxic]

I also live in Mount Pleasant and I wouldn't say almost everybody but apart from that overall I agree with that you've posted.

We're practically neighbours!

 

[Hodgy]

LOL at anyone who thinks they know enough people to make any kind of general statement regarding cocaine use.

 

[Diamonddog01]

We're practically neighbours!

Hmm not sure if I should be disturbed by that or suggest an HF Mount Pleasant meetup when things return to normalcy.

 

[rypper]

I don't think there's been more then a few days that have passed, since his death, that I've thought to myself "Man I miss Botch." or "What would Botch say about this."

He wanted to see the team turn the corner and make the playoffs so bad. This news doesnt' change anything about what I thought of the guy, just kind of rekindles the reminder of his passing. Just a huge bummer all around.

 

[I am toxic]

Hmm not sure if I should be disturbed by that or suggest an HF Mount Pleasant meetup when things return to normalcy.

Both?

 

[Kryten]

It’s just not worth it to do those drugs. Fentanyl and carfentanyl are super scary and can kill you with very small amounts. Unfortunately many peoples brains are wired to like coke a lot if they try it. These drugs are also unfortunately common in near every age, race, economic, education bracket. If you do it, get your drugs tested and use a buddy system with narcan nearby

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Almost everyone I know has used coke, and a significant proportion of the people I know, depending on their mood, would do a line at a social gathering if the evening was winding down and it was offered. Almost none ever buy it or seek it out, however. I don't think simply using this drug really implies much about a person. It's one of many recreational drugs you can take if circumstances allow and you have the spare time, and lots of people use it in moderation. The very idea of attaching a stigma to it, or assuming there is one, seems strange to me.

I find this perspective unbelievable. I'll leave it at that.

 

[bandwagonesque]

I find this perspective unbelievable. I'll leave it at that.

Where do you think the hundreds of tons of cocaine imported into North America every year are going? It's not around everywhere or all the time, but when it is around, people who have any experience with cocaine, which is many of us, may be tempted to use it. I see it pulled out at a party maybe every couple of months, and not always by the same people or in the same places. If you're middle-class and under 50 it's probably in your circle of acquaintance somewhere.

 

[sting101]

This does nothing to hurt Botchford's reputation in my books. I'm not gonna judge him. He was very good at what he did.

It's just really too bad that his family has to bear this tragedy going forward is all. He made a mistake.

Hopefully this helps bring some awareness.

 

[logan5]

I find this perspective unbelievable. I'll leave it at that.

If you are the stay at home type that doesn't or didn't ever go out to clubs or bars, you may find it unbelievable, but the majority of people do party at some points in their life. Like somebody else said, their are people you are friends with, or work with that do drugs, you just don't know it.

 

[member 328930]

I find this perspective unbelievable. I'll leave it at that.

I agree. I do not find that most people I know would do coke if offered. I do think most people will have come across it at one time or another.

All of this is irrelevant though. Jason Botchford Appeared to have worked an incredibly high stress job. He seemed like he was constantly on the go... writing, interviewing, podcasting, researching...I suspect he found drugs helped him cope...and I doubt it had anything to do with partying.

such a tragedy.