Achi news desk-
A New Brunswick man concerned about open drug use and the opioid crisis affecting local youth is writing a children’s book that no child will ever read.
At St. John’s, Derrick May is the “soap box preacher.”
Known in his community for being outspoken on social media about drug use and homelessness in his neighborhood, he decided to write what he calls a children’s book, which is anything but a child.
“Especially the open drug use and fentanyl use that we see here, I have a hard time understanding it. How do you explain it to children and what better way to explain it to children than a children’s book?” May asked.
May sits on his low in St. John, writing haunting rhymes to a story that features characters like “Fentanyl Franklin.”
“You can’t see Patty Frank but he’s all around in the air and on the ground,” he reads from his journal.
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A character he called “Narcan Dan” is the book’s superhero who saves the lives of overdose victims.
“It’s dark and deep, but you know what? Spend a day in Waterloo Village, see what the kids see,” May said.
Dan McGaughey is the real Dan the Narcan.
“I’m not a superhero, I’m just a guy,” he said, adding that he was just a concerned citizen who had recently been trained in how to administer naloxone kits.
“The fact that I now know what to do… is a good thing.”
McGaughey said the harsh realities of substance abuse and those struggling with mental health struggles need to be better educated. Mai says that more should be taught at school as well.
Heather Dobson, May’s friend, will create the artwork for the book they plan to self-publish. She said the book was “obviously not a children’s story” – given its content.
“I believe this is a book for adults, but in the way of explaining that it affects our children more,” Dobson said. “I have to constantly explain to my children what they see on the streets, and it also drains me.”
While the political debate over the criminalization of open drug use is an ongoing story across Canada, May hopes his book of rhymes will start a conversation between parents and children in many Canadian neighborhoods, which he says is becoming a “parental imperative.”
He says the book is “part satire and part necessity”.
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