The exemption is intended to reduce the stigma associated with substance use and make it easier for people to approach the police and other authorities for guidance.
The Canadian province of British Columbia today launched a three-year pilot program to stop prosecuting people for transporting small amounts of heroin, crystal methamphetamine, ecstasy or crack, as part of an effort to combat the drug overdose crisis.
This western Canadian province is at the center of Canada’s drug overdose and drug-trafficking crisis that has killed more than 32,000 people nationally since 2016, when the province declared the crisis a public health emergency .
The problem has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has disrupted illicit drug supply chains as well as support services, leaving people to use more toxic drugs on their own.
Preliminary figures released today by the province showed there were 2,272 deaths from alleged illegal drug use in 2022, the second-highest annual number on record, behind 2021, which had 34 more deaths.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government said in May it would allow British Columbia to decriminalize the drug in a first-of-its-kind exemption. By not prosecuting people who transport small amounts of drugs, the local provincial government hopes to treat the issue as a health problem rather than through the criminal justice system.
The exemption is intended to reduce the stigma associated with substance use and make it easier for people to approach the police and other authorities for guidance.
“For many years we’ve had a de facto policy of not arresting people for possession of drugs for personal use,” but this change will mean fewer seizures of small amounts of drugs, said a spokesperson for the Vancouver Police Department.
Other Canadian communities are closely monitoring the pilot program. They too are facing an increase in drug overdose deaths.
Drugs on the exemption list, which also includes fentanyl and other opioids, remain illegal and the exemption from arrest only applies to possession of up to 2.5 grams for personal use.
Many health experts argue that decriminalization will encourage drug users to use in safer places where they can access medical care.
RES-EMP
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
