Vancouver pioneered liberal drug policies. Fentanyl destroyed them

He is unconscious, barely breathing, sprawled on a pavement in downtown Vancouver. When the firefighters arrive, a bystander explains that the man has overdosed on fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid. While one firefighter pumps oxygen into the victim’s mouth, another injects him with naloxone, which reverses the chemical effect of opioids. The first shot does nothing; a second is administered. The man sits up, then stumbles to his feet. Refusing all offers of further help, he staggers away down the street. The firefighters can only watch him go.