It would allow people to possess up to 4.5 grams or less of heroin, fentanyl, crack, or powder cocaine and methamphetamine without facing criminal charges
B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson said opioid deaths have skyrocketed during the pandemic and it is time for a health-focused approach.
Yet between January and July, 1,204 people died from an overdose, including 184 in July alone, according to the latest data from the B.C. Coroner’s Service. The province is headed for a grim new record of more than 2,000 deaths this year, more than five times the number of fatal overdoses the province saw a decade ago.Article content
“Despite throwing all this at it, we still are seeing terrible increases in drug toxicity and terrible loss of life,” said Malcolmson, arguing decriminalization is necessary to save lives. “We hear from people on the ground that stigma and shame is making people hide their drug use.”Article content “As the opioid and overdose crisis continues to worsen we must take every measure possible to reduce harms and save lives,” reads the statement. “We recognize the different approaches cities, provinces, and other organizations are taking and are supportive of their work. We know there is more to do and our government will remain engaged with them to move these health-based approaches forward.”Advertisement“I certainly hope that it’s the first thing that is on Minister Bennett’s desk,” she said.
Since 2018 however, more and more groups have called for decriminalization, including the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. She said the province has no plans to go any further and wouldn’t consider legalizing illicit drugs, as was done with marijuana.
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