In a touching interview with Noovo Info, Mathis’ father makes a heartfelt cry and asks the population to be aware of the dangers of opioids.
“Many people continue to take opioids without knowing the risks of addiction and the withdrawal that comes with it,” he lamented.
Mathis accidentally consumed isotonitazene, a drug five times stronger than fentanyl. A drug purchased on the black market that he believed to be oxycodone.
While a police investigation is underway to find the person who sold said pill to Mathis, Mr. Boivin says he has no further news from the authorities.
Meanwhile, the bereaved father says he is doing prevention in schools to raise awareness among young people.
Class action against pharmaceutical manufacturers
Christian Boivin’s testimony comes after a class action was authorized in Quebec against 16 pharmaceutical manufacturers, accused of having misled consumers about the dangers linked to these drugs which contained opioids.
The class action includes anyone who used prescribed opioids between 1996 and the present and who has been diagnosed with an opioid use disorder.
For her part, Dr. Marie-Ève Goyer says that the opioid crisis is getting worse in the province.
“It’s a terrible epidemic.”
The deputy medical head of addiction and homelessness services at the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, responsible for people addicted to opioids for 20 years, says she is constantly losing patients.
“Anyone who uses substances on the illicit market now has the potential to be contaminated with opioids or another highly toxic substance,” she said.
According to the National Institute of Public Health, 536 people lost their lives in Quebec in 2023 linked to opioid or other drug poisoning.
See Lili Mercure’s report in the video.
