Using street drugs akin to Russian roulette, judge warns

Fentanyl found to be mixed in with heroin

A local judge warned a Niagara Falls man he’s playing a dangerous game with street drugs since many substances are now laced with fentanyl.

“Next time you see a needle, it will be Russian roulette,” Judge Tory Colvin told Micah Daradick.

The 28-year-old pleaded guilty Monday in an Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines to several charges including possession of heroin.

Court heard the Niagara Falls man was arrested April 4 after he was found in possession of a cigarette package filled with 2.5 grams of heroin.

A further test of the substance determined it was a mixture of heroin and fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 40 times more potent than heroin.

Health Canada estimates that a lethal dose of pure fentanyl for a typical adult is as little as two milligrams, which is approximately the size of a few grains of table salt

Defence counsel Jeffrey Root told the judge his client had battled a substance abuse problem in the past but had managed to beat his addiction. He relapsed, however, after experiencing a series of personal tragedies.

“He was not in a good place,” he told the judge. “He is now.”

The judge imposed a sentence of time served, based on the time the defendant had spent in pretrial custody, and placed him on probation for 12 months.

Daradick also entered into a 12-month peace bond in connection with an incident in September at Niagara Parks’ Floral Clock.

In that case, the defendant acted as a lookout as an accomplice used a magnet and a broom stick to fish out coins from the fountain at the popular tourist attraction.

For the duration of the peace bond, court was told, Daradick cannot be within 200 metres of the floral clock.