Jennifer Hedican knew her son Ryan wanted help.

It was the weekend, and with her husband John, they took their son to St. Joseph91裸聊视频檚 Hospital in Comox. At the hospital, Ryan was only given a business card.

91裸聊视频淭hey told us to call the public health nurse on Monday. On Monday, Ryan was gone.91裸聊视频�

Hedican pauses for a moment, resting her arms on her kitchen table in her Courtenay home.

91裸聊视频淚f he was a cancer patient, would he have been given a card?91裸聊视频�

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Growing up in the Comox Valley, Ryan was, as described by John, 91裸聊视频渁 typical little boy,91裸聊视频� who played sports, water skied and played piano.

91裸聊视频淟ike a lot of things, he didn91裸聊视频檛 have to work very hard - he had a lot of natural ability,91裸聊视频� adds Jennifer.

After graduating from Mark R. Isfeld Secondary, Ryan received his business diploma from North Island College. He thought he would open his own business, but couldn91裸聊视频檛 find anything that appealed to him, and went back to school for the electrical program at the college in Campbell River.

Prior to his post-secondary schooling, his parents agree they knew he was using drugs recreationally.

It began with alcohol in Grade 10, and shortly afterwards, Ryan was using marijuana. Later, he used heroin.

Jennifer says for the longest time, she attributed the shift in his behaviour to anxiety, but she now knows it was his drug use.

91裸聊视频淚 was surprised - I was shocked at first. He lived in our house and we would discuss his behavioral choices. He told me he was in a bad spot, but he wasn91裸聊视频檛 telling us he had a problem. There is a lot of shame in being a drug addict; he didn91裸聊视频檛 want to be a drug addict. He wanted to be with everyone else but he had this monkey on his back.91裸聊视频�

Between his first and second year of school, Ryan found work in the Lower Mainland perfecting his trade.

John says he was able to get clean on his own and he did really well both in school and at the job site. He attended school in Burnaby for his second year and returned to work, but lost his job as his drug use increased.

The Hedicans offered to place Ryan in treatment, and he accepted. Following eight weeks of treatment, he moved home, and eventually found a job working at the Campbell River Hospital as a second-year electrician.

He began using again.

91裸聊视频淗e had a plan,91裸聊视频� explains Jennifer. 91裸聊视频淗e was only going to use every few days - that way he didn91裸聊视频檛 think he91裸聊视频檇 have withdrawal symptoms. That didn91裸聊视频檛 work too well; you91裸聊视频檙e never smarter than the drugs.91裸聊视频�

Ryan eventually moved to Parksville where he lost contact with family for a few months. John received a call from him asking for help.

The family called a variety of resources seeking help. There were wait-lists and roadblocks, and the Hedicans knew Ryan wanted help immediately.

They found a treatment centre in New Westminster, where Ryan lived for eight months.

He found work in Vancouver, and had moved out with friends from the centre in mid-April.

A few days later, Ryan, 26, passed away on April 24, 2017, from a long battle of addiction due to, as termed by the Hedicans, 91裸聊视频渇entanyl poisoning.91裸聊视频�

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The Hedicans understand their approach to changing the way addiction is regarded and treated in Canada is controversial, but they believe lives can be saved by providing a safe, clean source for opiates and other drugs and decriminalizing personal possession.

Jennifer draws parallels between fentanyl and the AIDS crisis - and recalls when those who contracted AIDS were highly stigmatized within society - yet adds sexuality is a normal part of the human condition.

91裸聊视频淎ddiction is an unwanted disease caused by substance abuse,91裸聊视频� Jennifer says firmly. 91裸聊视频淪ubstance use is a human condition. For those who say people chose that lifestyle - nobody chooses addition.

91裸聊视频淲hat is the difference between pouring two glasses of wine or taking a toke of a joint or a line of cocaine? One is illegal. If you took the word 91裸聊视频榗riminal91裸聊视频� out of it, you91裸聊视频檒l see it as part of the human condition - it gives people pleasure. It91裸聊视频檚 inherent in those substances; that91裸聊视频檚 what they91裸聊视频檙e designed to do.91裸聊视频�

John - who has spoken to representatives of various levels of government - wonders why the government supports the legalization of some drugs (alcohol and marijuana), yet not others. He feels the use of legal drugs often leads to the use of illegal and now poison-laced drugs.

91裸聊视频�(People) are treated as criminals for simple possession; how come we provide safe injection sites yet it is illegal to have those substances in your possession?91裸聊视频�

In a report released by the BC Coroners Service in November, there were 914 illicit drug overdose deaths in B.C., with fentanyl detected from January through September 2017 - a 147 per cent increase (370 deaths) from the same period last year.

Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has noted the New Democrats would decriminalize personal possession of all drugs, not just marijuana.

Both John and Jennifer are sharing their experiences through school presentations and will continue to advocate for what they believe would be an option for government to address the fentanyl crisis.

They are asking others to contact government officials to share their concerns.

91裸聊视频淢y thoughts may not be your thoughts, but we91裸聊视频檙e putting an honesty and face to the numbers,91裸聊视频� notes John. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 so easy to think that (overdoses and deaths) are happening to 91裸聊视频榯hose people91裸聊视频� - those on the Downtown Eastside. But it91裸聊视频檚 us. It91裸聊视频檚 happening to us.91裸聊视频�