Canada Moves to Decriminalize Possession of ‘Hard’ Drugs

The Canadian government made a ruling that was the first of its kind. People over the age of 18 in British Columbia will be able to possess up to 2.5 grams of drugs without being charged or arrested. Other countries with decriminalization policies include Portugal, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and the US.

A decriminalized drug is located in a no-man's land. The policy states that possession won't result in handcuffs and that a substance use disorder won't be considered a crime. Daniel Werb is the director of the Center on Drug Policy Evaluation. People have known for a long time that you can't arrest your way out of a problem.

It's a problem. It is clear that the war on drugs is not working. Ben Perrin, a law professor at the University of British Columbia, says that the global war on drugs has been a failure. Black and Indigenous people are disproportionately targeted by criminalizing drug use. People are less likely to seek help and use drugs alone because of the stigma associated with criminalization.

Decriminalization is just the first in a long list of major changes needed to address Canada's catastrophicopioid epidemic. The decision is a bandage on a gaping wound which only worsened during the Pandemic. British Columbia has the highest rate of drug related deaths in North America. More than 10,000 people have died from overdoses in the province since the public health emergency was declared.

Bringing law enforcement into the equation has done nothing to lower that number according to decrim advocates. Canadian research shows that people who are in prison for drug related reasons are more likely to overdose upon their release than people who are not in prison. One in 10 overdose deaths are in people who have left prison. The death sentence for people with substance use disorders is jail.

Adeeba Kamarulzaman is the president of the International AIDS Society. Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the United Nations, once said that a criminal record for a young person for a minor drug offense can be a much greater threat to their well-being than occasional drug use.