News Article: Botchford died of overdose of cocaine and fentanyl

[Billy Kvcmu]

What a shame

Click to read more...

 

[PG Canuck]

This changes nothing of how I view him. He was a great person and is terribly missed in the Canucks community. Makes me feel even sadder, honestly.

RIP Botch...you're still the man and Vancouver misses you everyday. Wish you could've seen this team.

 

[Billy Kvcmu]

This changes nothing of how I view him. He was a great person and is terribly missed in the Canucks community. Makes me feel even sadder, honestly.

RIP Botch...you're still the man and Vancouver misses you everyday. Wish you could've seen this team.

Of course
But hopefully it’s serves as a lesson to all people who are having some drug problem

 

[canuckfan75]

Very Sad. But I figured it was something like this never wanted to say it though. Very very sad

 

[I am toxic]

I thought it heard on the radio yesterday that in the past while here in BC there have been more drug overdisedeaths than heart attack, car accident and covid - combined.

Along with covid and systemic racism, it deserves some attention.

 

[mossey3535]

Doesn't change how I feel about him, RIP.

But why do people keep lacing drugs with fentanyl again?

 

[Didalee Hed]

It’s hard not to look back at his endless energy now and think beaver buzz had as much to do with it as one may have believed.

 

[canuckfan75]

Best writer in Vancouver period. He is surely missed. if you have a drug addiction or Alcohol

 

[Burke's Evil Spirit]

This doesn't diminish the person Botch was in any way.

Devastated for the family.

Another victim of the antiquated puritan policy towards addiction (pushed by a so-called progressive provincial government) to appease a small fraction of naive idiots.

Tragic, tragic shit.

 

[PG Canuck]

I thought it heard on the radio yesterday that in the past while here in BC there have been more drug overdisedeaths than heart attack, car accident and covid - combined.

Along with covid and systemic racism, it deserves some attention.

 

[m9]

Glad this is out in the open now so that maybe some awareness is raised about the issue. Honestly this was confirmed 2 or 3 days after he died but nobody could really talk about it.

 

[I am toxic]

Thank you

 

[Hansen]

British Columbia is currently going through an overdose crisis that is consistently breaking records for the province's history. It can happen anywhere to anyone, but it doesn't have to happen. It doesn't have to be this way. More people are dying of overdose than from coronavirus by a wide margin.

I really hope that we're able to work as a province to make a safe supply accessible and treat this as a health issue instead of a criminal issue.

Missing Botch a lot, my heart is with his family and grateful to them for sharing this difficult news in the hopes that it brings awareness to a major issue we are facing (it wasn't explicit in that release but I am assuming that is why it was shared)

 

[valkynax]

Regardless, rest in peace Botch, say hi to Mr. Howe for us will ya?

 

[Fatass]

Holy $**t! Why isn’t there more press about these numbers? This is terrible, and way WAY worse than Covid 19 here.
And reading this news about Botchford’s cause of death is kind of shocking. His wife and family must be going through so many emotions.

 

[Disappointed EP40]

Doesn't change how I feel about him, RIP.

But why do people keep lacing drugs with fentanyl again?

Good question.

Drugs, the further you get away from where they are produced (central America) is diluted to maximize profit by being "cut" with fillers. Like, coke with the cheaper speed/meth. Sometimes even as bad as laundry detergent.

Because of the potency of Fentanyl. A TINY bit cut into virtually anything can make for a substitute for what the person wants. And is much cheaper because of that. And with every person a drug goes through, from central america, to Vancouver, it can be cut by another group looking to maximize their return.

I cannot for the life of me, understand why there hasn't been an all-out war on dealers of coke/fentanyl in Vancouver. I don't do any hard drugs and it would take me about 3 to 6 hours to orchestrate a meeting with a coke dealer. Our police are terrible. They sit around and wait for calls then usually say they can't do shit about it.

 

[Tim Calhoun]

This is the biggest crisis facing the continent.

Here in Mexico the uptick in murders over the last years (it’s truly horrifying) is largely due to the lucrative opioid trade among drug cartels.

 

[Disappointed EP40]

Such a commendable move by the family to release these details. It must have been difficult to make the decision. It is much better for the public to know that actual reason because it's such a real threat to people with addiction issues.

I have had two friends pass away from "heart attacks" who clearly overdosed. Those details were never given out because of their God fearing families. A big credit to the Botch family to raise awareness.

 

[Disappointed EP40]

This is the biggest crisis facing the continent.

Here in Mexico the uptick in murders over the last years (it’s truly horrifying) is largely due to the lucrative opioid trade among drug cartels.

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.

 

[m9]

Such a commendable move by the family to release these details. It must have been difficult to make the decision. It is much better for the public to know that actual reason because it's such a real threat to people with addiction issues.

I have had two friends pass away from "heart attacks" who clearly overdosed. Those details were never given out because of their God fearing families. A big credit to the Botch family to raise awareness.

For sure, I'm sure it was a tough decision which is why it took so long. I think they made the right choice in waiting and now again the right choice to come out now.

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

f***ing brutal.

Cocaine is a very obvious systemic issue in Vancouver. It's pretty common knowledge.

It's a risk in its own rite on its own but quite often these days, it contains fentanyl whether knowingly or not.

Given the crazy amount of overdoses in recent months/years, it's hard to fathom why people would continue to do it.

Unfortunately, when it comes to addiction, staying off of it is easier said then done.

Thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.

 

[Fire Benning]

Very sad..doesn't radically change how I think of him, but a good reminder about the dangers of hard drug use. Crazy how out of control the drug thing has gotten and policymakers have been so inept at solving it for it seems like forever now.

 

[Raistlin]

To be completely honest, it did affect what I think of him, but his contributions to journalism far out weigh what he did in his private life, and his family's decision to release the details is also doing the community a great service in raising awareness. RIP Mr. Botchford.

 

[mriswith]

That poor family. Bravo to them for being public about it, that can't be easy.

I have heard that the most likely people to die from fentanyl are people like Botchford - relatively normal folks who are alone in their own house when it happens so there's no one there to help, and that homeless people who OD on fentanyl are way more likely to survive because they're in public and around people.

Holy $**t! Why isn’t there more press about these numbers? This is terrible, and way WAY worse than Covid 19 here.
And reading this news about Botchford’s cause of death is kind of shocking. His wife and family must be going through so many emotions.

Mental health and addiction are still heavily stigmatized unfortunately.

 

[iloovRMB]

This doesn't diminish the person Botch was in any way.

Devastated for the family.

Another victim of the antiquated puritan policy towards addiction (pushed by a so-called progressive provincial government) to appease a small fraction of naive idiots.

Tragic, tragic shit.

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.