A New Brunswick man concerned about open drug use and the opioid crisis impacting local youth is writing a children’s book that no kid may ever read.
In Saint John, Derrick May is “the soapbox preacher.”
Known in his community for being outspoken on social media about drug use and homelessness in his neighbourhood, he has decided to write what he calls a children’s book, that is anything but child-like.
“Mainly the open drug use and the fentanyl use that we are seeing around here, I have a hard time making sense of it. How do you explain it to kids and what better way to explain it to kids than a children’s book?” asked May.
Sitting on his stoop in Saint John, May pens unsettling rhymes for a story showcasing characters like “Fentanyl Franklin”.
“You can’t see Fetty Frank but he is all around in the air and on the ground,” he reads from his journal.
A character he has called “Narcan Dan” is the superhero of the book who saves the lives of overdose victims.
“It is dark and deep, but you know what? Spend a day up in Waterloo village you will see what the kids see,” said May.
Dan McGaghey is the real Narcan Dan.
“I am not a superhero, I am just a guy,” he said, adding that he’s just a concerned citizen who was recently trained how to administer naloxone kits.
“The fact that I know now what to do…is a good thing.”
McGaghey said that kids should be better educated about the harsh realities of drug use and those battling mental health struggles. May says more should be being taught in school as well.
Heather Dobson, May’s girlfriend, will create the artwork for the book which they plan to self-publish. She said the book “clearly isn’t a children’s story” — considering the content in it.
“I believe it is an adult book but put in a way to explain that it is affecting our children more,” said Dobson. “I have to explain all the time to my kids what they see on the streets, and it is draining on me too.”
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 kids that in many Canadian neighbourhoods he says is becoming a “parental must.”
He says the book is “part satire and part necessity.”