I’ve always known that Canada was one of the most progressive countries out there and this has been proved yet again with the news today that the province of British Columbia will be decriminalising the use of cocaine and MDMA for the next three years.
Featured Image VIA
The temporary measures run from January 31st 2023 to 31 January 2026 and mean that adults will no longer be arrested, charged or have their drugs seized if they are caught in possession of 2.5g or less of illegal drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA and opioids for personal use. Apparently this policy is being adopted to deal with an overdose crisis in the province with a record 2224 deaths reported last year and 9400 since 2016.
You’re probably wondering how legalising carrying a couple of grams of drugs around on you is going to help an overdose culture and I’m not entirely sure to be honest, so I’ll let Dr Theresa Tam – Canada’s chief public health officer – explain the mentality behind it:
3/3 Stigma and fear of criminalization cause some people to hide their drug use, use alone, or use in other ways that increase the risk of harm. This is why the Gov of CA treats substance use as a health issue, not a criminal one.
— Dr. Theresa Tam (@CPHO_Canada) May 31, 2022
Yeah I still don’t really understand that? I’m all for legalising drugs – everyone’s going to do them anyway, so you might as well cut out the criminal element, tax that shit and make it much safer for everyone – but this method just seems like it’s going to encourage more people to drugs?
I guess they’re following the science/studies and they indicate that legalising possession of small amounts will discourage people doing drugs on their own and will reduce the stigma associated with it and encourage addicts to seek help off family and friends – thus decreasing the number of overdoses – but I just don’t know if it will actually work?
Will have to check back in 2026 to find out but I’m hoping it will as it could be a massive step in the right direction for legalisation which can only be a good thing for the reasons I outlined above.
For more of the same, check out how Brexit is affecting the UK’s supply of cocaine and MDMA. Great.
