Jane McCormick never thought she would find herself speaking to a group of people about how her 35-year-old son died due to toxic drugs.
McCormick lost her youngest son, Jeffrey, in October 2021 due to the toxicity of an illicit substance he inhaled.
“I won’t tell you the details of his life because I can’t tell you about Jeffrey in a few sentences,” she said. “He was a much-loved son, father and brother. He had a daughter and a son.”
McCormick spoke at an event to mark International Overdose Awareness Day (Aug. 31) in Parksville, but the term “overdose” is increasingly falling out of favour since the word is a misnomer.
Drug toxicity deaths happen when people use unregulated drugs contaminated with substances such as fentanyl, benzodiazepines and other adulterants.
Jeff used fentanyl and knew how much to take, if it wasn’t tainted with other substances, McCormick said.
He went to an addiction doctor, who counselled him and gave him a prescription for methadone treatment. Going to the pharmacy for Jeff’s meds was eye opening for McCormick.
“Seeing all the drugs he was supposed to take in order to get off opioids was mind-boggling,” she said. “I have learned more about drugs and addiction than I cared to.”
With the support of his family, Jeff entered treatment for opioid use disorder and when he returned, he had a fresh outlook on life and was looking forward to getting his job back and seeing his children.
Soon enough, he had upgraded his tickets and was on his way to a three-week shift with a powerline company in Thunder Bay.
“The day he was leaving he told me he had gone off his Suboxone, the opioid agonist therapy,” McCormick said. “He was worried about drug-testing on the job.”
A few weeks later she picked him up from the Victoria Airport. They had great conversation and picked up some takeout on the way home.
“I didn’t know that would be the last time I saw my son alive.”
READ MORE: Mothers’ rally in Parksville calling for drug policy changes to stop opioid crisis
When she heard a knock at the door the next morning, McCormick felt relieved her son was home. She noticed a police car outside.
“As I opened the door, he said Jeff’s name and I expected him to say hospital, or jail — he said deceased,” she said. “My heart shattered inside my chest. A piece of me died then, too.”
According to the initial coroners report, Jeff died from a high level of fentanyl, with benzodiazepines mixed in.
The traditional recovery model advocates people should treat a person dealing with addiction with tough love, McCormick said. Let them hit rock bottom.
“I am so glad that I could not do that to my son,” she said. “Those few weeks after Jeff got out of recovery, before he left for work, I had my boy back. The real Jeff. I gave him all I could and I would do it all over again.”
McCormick’s life has changed completely since that day. She decided to join an organization called Moms Stop the Harm and now leads a Healing Hearts bereavement group for others who have lost a child. McCormick advocates for people who are stigmatized by homelessness, mental health and addiction issues.
The number of illicit drug toxicity deaths in the Oceanside region increased from four in 2015 to 21 in 2020, according to Island Health data. The number declined to 15 in 2021 and seven in 2022, but Bill Nelles, Oceanside Community Action Team (OCAT) co-chair, is concerned the trend appears to be swinging up again.
OCAT strives to reduce deaths and harms due to the toxic drug crisis and works closely with Island Health to bring new services to the area.
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