A former roommate of Dan Sealey — Lana Popham’s stepson who died of a drug overdose — remembers him as one of the “kindest, most generous people.”
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Chris Carr, who lived with Sealey while attending Central Washington University and becoming “very very close over the course of three years,” said Sealey would give anyone the shirt off his back.
“As much love as he had for all of his friends and his family for whatever reason he could never find love for himself,” said Carr in a note to the Saanich News.
On Facebook, Carr expressed shock about Sealey’s death and regret for his failure to visit him.
“I love you so much man,” he wrote. “I’m so sorry I hadn’t come down to visit I never thought it would end like this. I got so caught up in everything I was doing I guess I thought I had forever.”
Carr described Sealey as someone with whom he shared music and a deep friendship. “I’m gonna miss playing music with you, being stupid and making all the goofy ass raps we made,” he told Black Press. “You helped me get through so much I just wish I could have done the same for you.”
Sealey died of an accidential drug overdose earlier this month at the age of 23, with the family announcing his death on Nov. 12.
While friends and family held a private gathering on Sunday to remember Sealey, his death has brought the issue of overdose deaths into the very heart of the provincial cabinet.
Bernie Pauly, an associate professor in the UVic School of Nursing and a scientist with the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, has said Sealey’s “tragic” and “preventable” confirms the need for a policy shift.
“It underscores our discussion [regarding] concerns related to an unsafe drug supply and the need for decriminalization and legalization to prevent overdose deaths as a universal approach,” she said
Nearly 10 people died each day of an illicit drug overdose in Canada from January 2016 to March 2018, according to Public Health Agency of Canada.