Deadly drug just 'a click away,' warns grieving Ontario family
CBC Aidan Tate died by himself, but not alone.
His family wasupstairs, asleep. Earlier that night, they had enjoyed a meal together. Then the 19-year-old went down to his basement bedroom to play his guitar. His father, Phil, popped in to say goodnightand bring his son something to drink.
Aidan Tate is seen during a family vacation in May 2017. The 19-year-old Peterborough, Ont., resident died of a suspected drug overdose in March 2023. (Philip Tate)
"We had people calling us thinking he had died on the street or something. That's not how it happened," saidPhil Tate. "We have our street problems here in Peterborough,for sure, but the addiction is in the suburbs."
Aidan Tate fell victim to a suspected drug overdose in early March. The tragedy is so raw and recentthat toxicology results are still pending. But authorities believe they know at least part of the answer a benzodiazepine he purchased off the Internet.
Bromazolam was never approved for medical use, anywhere in the world. Yet the powerful sedative is being sold and shipped openly in Canada. Used by dealers to enhance other street drugs, it often proves fatal when mixed with opioids, because it both depresses the respiratory system and counters the effects of antidotes like naloxone.
