We all know that in the USA, prosecutors have been going after suppliers of hard drugs. And to target specific people, they’ve prosecuted drug dealers of substances that have been responsible for an individual’s death. But the prosecution centers on the recipient receiving a drug stronger than they anticipated (thus resulting in death). Let’s say you went to the street and bought a Xanax. But it was unknowingly laced with fentanyl, so the strong dosage kills you. That was what was prosecutable.
But Canada might be leading the way in a different type of prosecution. And the US often follows Canada on policy, they sort of serve as lab rats for North America.
But in Peel, a regional municipality (same as county), just outside of Toronto, police are investigating a man who shipped substances that aided a suicide. That’s a new approach, since the ones deceased were trying to take their own lives.
And the substance is actually legal to buy. Kenneth Law is the suspect, who is based out of Toronto.
He shipped them to Great Britain and the US. So another interesting aspect here. No one in Peel itself killed themselves with these shipments, or even in Canada.
In the US, one victim was just 17 years old, perhaps creating a hook for this new style of prosecution (being underage).
The product was sodium nitrate. The Globe and Mail contacted Law. “I’m selling a legal product, okay. And what the person does with it? I have no control.” Despite the tragedies, the guy has a point. Should every gun manufacturer be arrested if they’re used to assist suicide? Some guns are still legal in Canada.
Sodium nitrate is a chemical used to preserve meats. Law says he wasn’t selling it so young people could kill themselves. But in online circles, it was quickly discovered that the chemical provided a quick and painless way to end life.
The question is, is that Law’s problem? We’d like to hear from you below.
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