A Reckoning is Coming

I was going to talk about a few things today; the way various organizations initiate things like rope recycling and then avoid follow-up; the few boats that have gone lobstering aren’t finding much – apart from huge bills for fuel and bait; and the concerns regarding a potential closure of the herring fishery this summer.

However, there is a much bigger and more urgent matter to discuss.

The Fundy Islands are not immune to what some might consider “Big City” problems. In this case I’m referring to illegal drugs. At last count (that I know of) there have been 4 deaths and an unknown number of overdoses on the big Island next to us in the last two weeks.

Part of the problem is, of course, the availability of substances like meth – and the fact that a lot of recent shipments of various drugs have been cut with fentanyl. It’s also common around here for people to try to experiment with modifying the way they use various compounds and to mix their drugs.

Yesterday I was talking to a friend about her son and his fight with addiction. He told her he was working hard to get and stay clean but he wasn’t in a good place.

Last night that young man overdosed and died.

People in every community know who the locals dealers are. On an Island this small it’s even easier – particularly when they don’t try to conceal their activities.

It’s unusual for the police to be here. They wait to be called (I think) and they don’t go looking for problems (unless they’re setting up roadside safety checks). The RCMP has been here on and off for the past few days – their presence this morning is in response to the death overnight.

Now, I don’t know if they have any intention of tracking the person who provided the drugs in this instance. Even I could give them a short-list of probable suspects. I don’t actually expect anything to happen and this could have some serious consequences.

Here’s the thing – these Islands have a history of dealing with problems like this on their own. Houses belonging to drug dealers have caught fire – although I’ll point out there was no riot on this Island when it happened here. Individuals have also been gently *cough* escorted to the mainland with strong suggestions that they not return.

I told you the story once of seeing bullet holes on a banister inside a fancy house on the backside of the Island. That guy just tried to prevent the locals from using Schooner Cove. People here do have ways of making their point.

I bring this up because patience has worn so thin you can see through it. The recent losses on Grand Manan and the death here last night might just cause some to go back to the old ways. If I was one of the dealers I’d pack up and leave now.