The Government of Canada has announced that it will allow the province of British Columbia to try a three-year experiment to decriminalize small drug possession, hoping it will help stem the record number of overdose deaths by alleviating the fear of arrest. who need help.
The policy, approved by federal officials, does not legalize the substances, but Canadians in the Pacific province who possess up to 2.5 grams of illicit drugs for personal use will not be arrested or charged.
The three-year release on January 31 will apply to drug users aged 18 and over and includes opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA, also known as ecstasy.
“The stigma and fear of criminalization make some people hide their drug use, their use alone or in other ways that increase the risk of harm. That’s why the Canadian government treats substance use as a health problem, not a criminal one, “tweeted Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer.
The province’s health official, Dr. Bonnie Henry, said that with the policy, “we are taking an important step forward in eliminating this fear, shame and stigma.”
“This is not the only thing that will reverse this crisis, but it will change things,” she added.
British Columbia is the first Canadian province to apply for exemption from Canadian drug laws.
Carolyn Bennett, the federal minister for mental health and addictions, said she could serve as a template for other jurisdictions in Canada.
“This time-limited release is the first of its kind in Canada,” she said. “Real-time adjustments will be made upon receipt of an analysis of all data that indicate a need for change.”
Bennett said they were doing it to save lives. “For too many years, ideological opposition to harm reduction has cost lives,” she said.
Since 2016, there have been more than 9,400 deaths in the province due to toxic illicit drugs and a record 2,224 last year.
Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart said he received emails every Monday about drug deaths, including nine last week and 12 the previous week. He said one week he was a member of his family.
“I wanted to cry and I’m still crying. It’s a big, big thing, “Stewart said. He said the release from Canadian drug laws was just the beginning.
The allowable amount of illicit substances is less than the 4.5 g requested by British Columbia, and has already been considered too low by some groups of drug users who have criticized the province for not consulting them adequately.
Sheila Malcolmson, British Columbia’s mental health minister, said the fear of criminalization had led many to hide their addiction and use drugs on their own.
“Using it alone can mean dying alone, especially in this climate of tragically high levels of illicit drug toxicity,” Malcolmson said.
Malcolmson said the Coroner in British Columbia reported that between five and seven people died a day in the province from overdoses and that half of them occurred in a private home, often when people were alone. “Fear and shame keep drug use a secret,” she said.
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