COPS CRACK DOWN ON SPICE

Making A Bid For The Extinction Of Doda

The Abbotsford Police Department is cracking down on the sale of an
opium-based South Asian spice, after receiving reports of skyrocketing
addiction rates among users.

Const. Ian MacDonald with the Abbotsford Police said vendors selling
the narcotic must surrender what product they have or face seizures of
the drug.

Doda is made from grinding dried (opium) poppy husks or poppy seeds
into a fine powder, and has tested positive for codeine and morphine,
making it illegal for vendors to sell.

It is considered highly addictive for users who often mix it with tea
or hot water to induce narcotic effects.

A number of recent seizures in the Lower Mainland and Eastern Canada
have brought the previously little-known drug to authorities
attention, and the need to police its sale.

"Something our drug enforcement unit will do [in the near future] is
sting operations and enforcement as it relates to the sale and
distribution of doda in our jurisdiction," said MacDonald.

Doda is predominantly sold at South Asian meat shops as a spice, and
he said customers would have to ask for it specifically.

"It's not necessarily on the shelf, it's something you would have to
ask about," he said. A cross-section of Indo-Canadian meat shops and
markets the Times visited in Abbotsford either denied hearing of the
product, had heard of it, but didn't sell it and had no idea where to
buy it, or suddenly could no longer speak English and asked us to leave.

Police understand it is culturally acceptable within the South Asian
community to sell the drug, said MacDonald, and they have no desire to
conduct raids on local shops.

"We're not looking at this point to thump the meat shop owners . . .
our first line of attack is to educate.

"But obviously enforcement has to follow that," he said. MacDonald
added another concern for police is letting the public know of doda's
narcotic qualities and not be able to effectively control it,
especially where young people are concerned.