After his brother died of a drug overdose and the Canadian government decriminalised possession of drugs in small quantities, Jerry Martin, a 51-year-old Canadian man opened a mobile ‘drug’ store in British Columbia but only to be arrested for drug trafficking a day later.

His intention, according to him, was to make non-fatal drugs for those who use them in order to avoid drug overdose deaths. In his store, martin kept cocaine, heroin, and other dangerous drugs.

On Wednesday, he started peddling the drugs out of a portable caravan that was parked in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, a place with a high rate of drug use and a lot of drug overdose prevention services.

Numerous people had reportedly lined up outside Martin’s mobile store to purchase drugs, at the time he was reportedly held.

Although no formal charges have been filed, Vancouver police said they arrested a man for “drug trafficking in connection with an illicit drug dispensary.”

51-year-old Martin has declared intentions to contest his arrest in court, claiming his drugs were fentanyl free and that he is only doing this to protect the people from dying of overdose.

Canada decriminalised the possession of small amounts of hard drugs in the province of British Columbia (BC) early this year as part of a three-year trial experiment.

The public health measure was proposed in response to an increase in the number of fentanyl-laced drug overdose deaths in western Canada.

More than 2,720 people in BC died from overdoses in 2022, or seven people on average every day.

In Canada, BC has the second-highest rate of overdose fatalities.

In an effort to stop more fatalities, Martin told local media sources that he intended to distribute batches of fentanyl free cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and crack in little doses, up to 2.5 grammes.

He claimed to have tested all drugs for fentanyl content before putting it out for sale.

Constable Tania Visintin stated in a statement that while police would continue to crack down on drug trafficking, they “support measures aimed at improving public safety for people who use drugs, including harm reduction services and decriminalisation.”

Although Martin’s name was not mentioned in the police press release announcing the arrest, it received extensive coverage in Canadian media.

According to authorities, he is not in prison while a court hearing is underway. Additionally, he has been told not to go to Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

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