POLICE ISSUE WARNING ON 'ADDICTIVE' DRUG

Peel police issued a warning yesterday about doda, a "harmful" and
"addictive" substance growing in popularity among some Peel residents.
The Post's Dave Bowden offers five things you should know about doda:

1. Doda is created by grinding dried poppy husks or poppy seeds
containing opiates into a fine powder. It is commonly ingested with
hot water or tea, rather than injected. However, Dr. Steven Black, an
addiction expert with the Malton Medical Group, said the method of
consumption only partially reduces the risk. "You'd have to take a
hell of a lot to get an overdose from it," he said. "[But] it's just
like any other opiate you get: You end up being totally dependent on
it."

2. Consumption of doda has so far been confined to a specific segment
of Peel residents. "Our information is it is fairly centralized to the
South Asian community," said Constable Mark Haywood of Peel police's
drug squad. Dr. Black said most of his patients share more than a
common ethnicity; doda users are blue-collar workers -- almost
exclusively men -- who drive trucks, taxis or work long shifts at
factories and use doda to remain alert.

3. Doda users most commonly obtain the powder from local South Asian
meat shops. Const. Haywood said the meat shops receive large
quantities of the poppy plant from sources in Afghanistan and Arizona.
Because it enters the country as a plant that can be used for legal
purposes, such as in floral arrangements, it can be difficult to
seize. "We need to distinguish the stuff coming across the border for
[an illegal] purpose or for flowers," Const. Haywood said.

4. Dr. Black has been treating patients for doda addictions for about
10 years, but word of mouth has spread in recent years. Brampton city
councillor Vicky Dhillon, pictured, said he first noticed the problem
when he spotted people lined up outside neighbourhood meat shops. "It
wasn't really brought to the forefront until recently," Const. Haywood
said.

5. Police arrested the owner of a [redacted] that allegedly
sold doda in October. [redacted] is charged with three
counts of trafficking in a controlled substance and one count of
possession for the purpose of trafficking. The doda seized in the
arrest tested positive for the opiates codeine and morphine, both
illegal substances.

Doda has previously existed in a legal grey area because of
uncertainty about whether or not it contained opium.

But the discovery of the two controlled substances within the seized
doda confirms its status as an illegal drug, according to
authorities.

Mr. Dhillon said the arrest is only a first step. "We should send a
message to the RCMP," he said. "I think the federal government should
make it illegal everywhere in Canada."