The death of a man in his late twenties following an overdose of MDMA (ecstasy) during the ÎleSoniq electronic music festival in August 2022 in Montreal went completely under the radar and was not the subject of no recommendation by the coroner’s office.
“ [L’homme] was participating in the festival on Sainte-Hélène Island in Montreal when he lost consciousness”, we can read in a report, obtained as part of the investigation of the Duty.
On a scorching day, the man took part in the famous festival. Paramedics intervened with the festival-goer, who was hyperventilating and whose heartbeat was very rapid. He also had seizures before being transported to the Montreal General Hospital.
“Toxicological screening […] revealed the presence of alcohol, although minimal, amphetamines and THC,” we can read in the report from coroner Francine Danais. Among his personal effects, paramedics found beers, two MDMA tablets and a cannabis cigarette.
The man died two days later from multiple organ failure caused by MDMA intoxication.
The promoter of the ÎleSoniq Festival, Evenko, indicated to Duty not having been informed of such a situation in connection with the 2022 edition of the event. “The coroner has not contacted us […] We take the risks associated with drug use at our festivals very seriously. This is why we have a medical team on site. We also call on GRIP, which offers a substance analysis service to prevent overdoses and raises awareness among our festival-goers,” explains Christine Montreuil, media relations manager at Evenko.
No details regarding the time taken to be evacuated or the presence or absence of emergency services on site are noted in the file. No recommendation either, as is the case in 99% of overdose death files consulted by The duty since 1er January 2022.
“As I am not even able to establish whether he had consumed on the site or before going there, I could not establish a direct link between his presence on the festival grounds and his death. As a result, no recommendation could be made with those responsible for the event and it was therefore not appropriate to contact them,” specifies Duty Me Francine Danais, the coroner on file.
A social debate
The coroner’s office has the power to make recommendations that can have a real impact in bringing about change in society. “It’s case by case. There is no general rule,” indicates the deputy chief coroner, Luc Malouin.
The chief coroner, Reno Bernier, specifies from the outset that barely 5% of the files processed annually by his office are the subject of recommendations, but that his team supports Public Health by participating in particular in monitoring committees. . Since 2017, the coroner’s office has sent monitoring data almost daily to the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec as part of the epidemiological investigation ordered under the Public Health Act.
“For example, we have a committee on overdose with the DRSP of Montreal every 15 days […] to improve ways of doing things. Our coroners are often contacted by public health to enlighten them,” explains Reno Bernier.
Luc Malouin considers that the solutions to resolve the overdose crisis in Quebec do not involve issuing recommendations.
Whether the coroner recommends that a region establish a supervised injection center, good luck! I think he can launch the idea, but it has to go further.
“If the coroner recommends that a region establish a supervised injection center, good luck!” I think he can launch the idea, but it has to go further. Everyone is for it, but when you want to do it, no one wants it in their backyard. Same thing for the inhalation business. There is more and more talk about decriminalizing simple possession, but society still needs to be ready for that. There was the coroner this week who said that we should go down to 0.05 [mg/100 ml le taux] drunk driving, then he had the door shut in his face by the Ministry of Transport,” says Me Malouin.
“I don’t think it’s a coroner’s recommendation that solves the problem. […] It would take a national committee, like for medical assistance in dying, because there are more and more social debates,” he says.
In Vancouver, British Columbia’s chief coroner, Lisa Lapointe, recommended in early October that more supervised consumption centers offer a space where it is possible to inhale drugs: 65% of the 1,600 overdose deaths in 2023 y occurred after inhalation of substances, compared to 15% by injection. However, the services in place are not yet adapted to meet the needs on the ground according to the coroner, since less than half of the centers allow supervised inhalation.