Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for taking time to be here today.
I'm going to start with Dr. Mathew.
In 2021, you published a piece in the British Medical Journal based on some discussions you had with a convicted drug dealer in B.C. The person said that many people who use drugs seek out fentanyl. He even said that when people see someone overdose, they want to go to buy from that person's dealer, because they know they'll get the stronger, better stuff. This seems to indicate people seek out stronger drugs as opposed to a “safe drug”, even if they know it could kill them.
I was wondering if you could explain this a little bit.