Official Vancouver FIFA World Cup website has a warning for visitors
Vancouver is issuing a warning to visitors coming to the city for the FIFA World Cup.
As part of its preparations before the games, the Vancouver Host Committee has launched the Know Before You Go campaign, listing a number of things it believes tourists should know before they visit Vancouver.
It includes things like advising people to get around by walking, biking, or taking public transit, that Vancouver is on the unceded ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, and that matches are happening at BC Place.
It also has a warning about B.C.’s toxic drug supply.
Under the “need to know information” section, it informs visitors that B.C.’s illegal drug supply is “contaminated by fentanyl and other toxic substances.”
“Visitors are advised to avoid using illegal drugs and if using, to not use alone,” reads the site.
It offers some links to harm reduction resources, like drug checking, clean supplies, overdose prevention sites, and the Connect by Lifeguard App.
Pete Fry, a Green Party Councillor, said he thinks it is a “responsible thing to do.”
“The new Know Before You Go campaign very explicitly acknowledges toxic drugs and recognizes that visitors who may be recreational drug users might come here and want to indulge in party drugs like they do back home, not realizing that we have an incredibly toxic drug supply that could quickly get into a bigger situation,” he said in an interview with Daily Hive.
In a list that Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) developed with public health recommendations for FIFA World Cup visitors, it also advised people to avoid illicit drugs, and to avoid using alone if they do use.
“Fatal overdoses have occurred in people who use drugs regularly, as well as those who are occasional users. Injection, inhalation and smoking of illicit drugs all carry a significant risk,” wrote VCH.
In April, B.C. marked the 10th anniversary of the toxic drug crisis. Thousands of people have died from toxic drugs since then.