Doda becoming a popular drug in B.C.
Posted August 26, 2010 6:45 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Doda is fairly common in India and Pakistan, and it’s becoming increasingly popular in B.C. as well. Now that it’s on the RCMP’s radar after the largest opium grow-op bust in Canadian history on Monday, it’s being pushed into the underground drug trade.
Two years ago, lots of ethnic grocery stores would keep the drug behind the counter and some even stocked it on the shelves. It’s an effective painkiller, highly addictive and it’s popular with cabbies and truck drivers because it keeps them awake during long shifts.
NDP MLA Harry Bains says people that use the drug can’t find it in those grocery stores any more, so they’re buying it from drug dealers. “You know, I’ve had calls from their wives saying they’re really concerned their husbands are using it, and do I make sure that it’s not available.”
Bains says doda is much cheaper than its poppy plant relatives heroin and morphine.
