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The federal minister called the new drug rules a “start” and said they would be re-evaluated
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May 31, 2022 • 1 hour ago • 4 minutes reading • 35 comments The federal government will decriminalize possession of up to 2.5 grams of most illicit drugs, effective January 1 Photo: DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS
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Health Canada’s decision to decriminalize possession of small quantities of illicit drugs in British Columbia was hailed by some as an important step, but critics said the 2.5-gram limit was a “ridiculously low threshold” that could make people buy more. powerful drugs.
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British Columbia will become the first jurisdiction in Canada, where people aged 18 and over found with a total of 2.5 grams or less of opioids, cocaine and amphetamines will not be subject to criminal charges or compulsory treatment and their drugs will not be confiscated.
However, the police can bring charges if there is evidence that the person is trafficking drugs. The production, import or export of drugs in any quantity is still illegal. And the release does not cover psychedelic drugs.
The exemption does not apply to people who possess drugs in primary schools, licensed childcare facilities, airports or Coast Guard ships and helicopters. Members of the Canadian Armed Forces remain subject to the Code of Professional Discipline.
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The changes will take effect on January 31, 2023 and will last until January 31, 2026, when the province will have to apply again.
British Columbia Addiction Minister Sheila Malcolmson said on Tuesday that decriminalization would help reduce the stigma surrounding drug use, which could prevent people from seeking harm reduction services. It is a recognition that substance use is a public health problem, not a criminal one, she said.
Sheila Malcolmson, Minister for Mental Health and Addiction in British Columbia, during a statement decriminalizing a number of illicit drugs. Photo by NIK PROKAYLO / PNG
“Shame and fear prevent people from accessing the care they need, and the fear of criminalization has led many to hide their addiction and use drugs on their own,” Malcolmson told a news conference with federal counterpart Carolyn Bennett in Vancouver. “And using it alone can mean dying alone.”
Bennett approved BC’s request in November to exempt the province from the Controlled Medicines and Substances Act, which provincial health official Dr Bonnie Henry and BC’s coroner Lisa Lapoint have been seeking for years.
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However, the 2.5 gram threshold set by Ottawa is much lower than the 4.5 grams requested by BC, which is based on feedback from experts and people who use drugs.
Leslie McBain, co-founder of the harm reduction advocacy group Moms Stop the Harm, said the threshold was “ridiculously low” for people addicted to illegal substances involved in the release.
This could have unintended consequences, McBain said, for people to buy illegal drugs several times a day, increasing their chances of encountering a bad batch.
BC Green leader Sonia Furstenau fears that low possession limits “could lead to higher drug levels, potentially causing more harm and fear of seeking help.” She said decriminalization alone would not save lives and called on BC to expand access to regulated safe supplies, especially in remote communities.
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A study by the Center for the Use of Substances found that people with the most severe substance use disorders typically use four grams of opioids, five grams of cocaine, 75 cracks or six grams of amphetamines a day.
The report’s author, Cora Debek, a public policy and research scientist at the center, said she was disappointed that the federal government had taken such a cautious approach to decriminalization.
Bennett acknowledged that the possession threshold was lower than what the defenders wanted, but said: “We will start as we begin.” The government will study the threshold in real time, Bennett said.
Federal Addiction Minister Carolyn Bennett at a news conference after British Columbia received an exemption from decriminalizing possession of certain illicit drugs for personal use. Photo: DARIL DICK / CANADIAN PRESS
This leads defenders like McBain to hope that it will eventually be increased.
Bennett said the government had been informed by police across the country that 85 per cent of non-drug-related drug seizures were less than two grams.
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The city of Vancouver has applied to Ottawa separately to decriminalize small amounts of illicit drugs, asking people to be allowed to possess two grams of opioids, three grams of cocaine, one gram of crack cocaine and 1.5 grams of amphetamines.
The rules for releasing BC will also apply to the city.
“The decriminalization of ordinary drug possession is a historically bold and revolutionary first step in the fight to save lives,” Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart told a news conference on Tuesday. “This marks a fundamental rethinking of drug policy, which favors health care over handcuffs.
Doug White, chairman of the Council of Justice of the First Nations in British Columbia, said the council was in favor of decriminalizing four grams of illicit drugs. White said the 2.5-gram threshold is unfair to people living in remote communities who often buy multi-day drug deliveries and lack the treatment and safe supplies that are located in urban centers.
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White said the drug ban has disproportionately hurt indigenous peoples, who are overrepresented in the legal and prison system, and he also wants to see pardons and criminal records erased for people previously accused of mere possession.
Saddling people with a criminal record simply means “anchoring to people calling for help instead of a lifeline,” he said.
Critic of the federal NDP for harm reduction, Gord Jones, said the liberal government should pursue a national strategy for decriminalization instead of a piecemeal approach across the country.
Jones on Wednesday will present a bill to a private member that will create a national strategy to decriminalize common property and delete criminal records for the crime. Bennett said Tuesday he would not support the bill.
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BC continues to have a record number of deaths from illicit drug poisoning. The overdose crisis was declared a public health emergency in British Columbia in 2016 and the pandemic exacerbated the situation.
In 2021, 2,224 people died from alleged drug overdoses in British Columbia, the highest number of deaths recorded in a calendar year.
More than 165 British Colombians died from drug overdoses in March, which contributed to a record number of deaths in the first quarter of 2022.
kderosa@postmedia.com
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