Shocking footage circulating on social media appears to show a man violently convulsing while sprawled across a public park bench in Canada.
The video is accompanied by a shockingly casual caption 'Average scenes on a park bench in Pete Fry COPE Paradise Vancouver, BC.'
The disturbing scenes are a stark reminder of the drug epidemic that has plagued communities across British Columbia and raised serious questions about the safety of the city's public spaces.
Back in January 2023, British Columbia launched a radical pilot scheme removing criminal penalties for adults possessing small quantities of certain illegal drugs.
Under the scheme, adults could possess up to 2.5 grams of substances including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and MDMA for personal use without facing criminal charges.
After a backlash, the restrictions on possession were reinstated in May 2024, though the program only officially ended on January 31, 2026.
Now claims are surfacing that crows have become intoxicated after encountering discarded narcotics in the city.
Good Caws Crow Rescue Society say they have been forced to carry naloxone. The overdose-reversing medication is usually used to save the lives of humans after exposure to opioids, but is now being deployed to save the crows.
A shocking video appearing to show a man thrashing wildly on a park bench in Vancouver has reignited outrage over the city's spiraling drug crisis
The footage is a disturbing reminder of the wider consequences of a drug epidemic that has transformed Vancouver into an international symbol of urban disorder
Crows in Prince George, British Columbia have been finding opioids left over by addicts in the crime-ridden city, according to Good Caws Crow Rescue Society
Volunteer Dayna Slater says the group has dealt with more than a dozen suspected drug overdoses among crows this year.
'It's disheartening, it's scary,' Slater told the CBC. 'It's a whole bunch of factors coming together to make the perfect storm.'
The stricken crows can be seen with their wings spread wide, eyes shut and with extremely slow heart rates. Some birds have died as a result of overdoses.
Some remain alive but appear completely unresponsive. In some cases, she said, a brown liquid foam has emerged from their beaks.
Slater believes the birds are picking up traces of toxic drugs from garbage left exposed on city streets.
'A crow doesn't know the difference between a sandwich bag and a bag that had something in it,' Slater said.
Slater said overdosing birds are showing up in increasing numbers in an area of Prince George where illegal drug use is known to occur.
Vancouver's problems became an international political flashpoint in January 2023, when British Columbia launched a progressive pilot scheme removing criminal penalties for adults possessing small quantities of certain illegal drugs.
The problem has become so widespread that volunteers from animal rescue group Good Caws Crow Rescue Society have been forced to carry naloxone
Yet critics warned it risked making public drug use more visible while leaving residents to deal with the consequences.
The backlash eventually forced a major retreat. In May 2024, restrictions were reinstated on possession in most public places, including parks and streets.
British Columbia premier David Eby later admitted the scheme that went forward under his oversight was significantly flawed.
'I was wrong on drug decriminalization and the effect it would have,' he said during a speech in October 2025.
'What it became was a permissive structure that... it was okay to use drugs anywhere that resulted in really unhappy consequences.'
Yet the pilot only officially expired on January 31, 2026.
And the wider drug crisis has continued to haunt communities across British Columbia.
Fentanyl and other toxic substances have fueled a devastating overdose epidemic, while residents and business owners have repeatedly raised concerns about open drug use, discarded needles and public disorder.
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