The man who opened the first store in Canada openly selling tested heroin, cocaine, meth, and MDMA has died of an overdose.
Jerry Martin died in Vancouver on Friday, a few days after he was hospitalized due to a suspected fentanyl overdose, according to his partner Krista Thomas.
He previously told VICE News he had been addicted to cocaine and had been homeless for much of his youth.
He was arrested within 24 hours of opening the store in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, the epicenter of Canada’s overdose crisis.
British Columbia is in the midst of a three-year pilot project decriminalizing small amounts of drugs, but selling remains illegal.
The province also has safe supply projects where drug users are given pharmaceutical alternatives to street drugs, including prescription heroin.
Rennie, who used benzo dope—a combination of fentanyl and ultra potent benzodiazepines, died of an overdose before the documentary aired. »
