Canada to temporarily decriminalize certain drugs in BC

Hmmm...decrease the number of drug overdose deaths by decriminalizing possession of the drugs? How does that work?

The three-year exemption effective Jan. 31 will apply to drug users 18 and over and include opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA, also known as ecstasy.

Decriminalizing lets people and their acquaintances get help immediately in the case of overdose without fear of prosecution.

There needs to be more scientific appraisal of the relative harm of various substances that are used, legal and not.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(10)61462-6/fulltext

If you ever visit Vancouver, stay the heck out of the East side and don't stray from your tour group.

There is a street that is block after block of drugged out zombies and a giant tent city.

Vancouver has been slowly liberalizing drug laws for years and with every step the problem just gets worse and worse.

Drug dealers and gun smugglers are having a good week in Canada, profits look set to soar.

The allowable amount of illegal substances falls short of the 4.5 grams requested by British Columbia, and was already deemed too low a threshold by some drug-user groups that have criticized the province for failing to adequately consult them.

This appears to say the measure was put forward arbitrarily without proper investigation and the opinion of experts, just for the sake of doing something as soon as possible.

In theory this could have a positive effect at preventing deaths, but it is also possible that it could encourage more people to try drugs which would make things worse, fear and shame are also part of the reasons some people do not try (and later get hooked) on drugs.

Best wishes for the measure but for now it seems like they are taking quite a big risk.

I don't agree with this decision.

It will lead to more use of those drugs.

It could possibly shine light on supply chains and dealers and manufacturers tho .

Ultimately i think it's a poor decision to decriminalize.

They did that in Oregon and it hasn't helped .

Cannibus should be legalized and taxed like alcohol, LSD and MDMA should be legal in controlled venues, heroin should be legally prescribed, tested and given with addict support. and with the disgusting drugs like Meth, users should be sent to remote re-education camps with hard labor and vocational training.

Don't parts of Europe have similar stances?

Long, long ago, I experimented with many different substances. I never became addicted, but could see it starting with opioids, so I stopped and never touched those again recreationally.

My career choice has always required drug testing, so recreational use wasn't an option even trips to places where light drugs are legal. Had some surgery and was prescribed an opioid drug for pain management for a few weeks. Fortunately, it was just a dull pain remaining when the prescription ran out.

I'm inclined to legalize everything for use like alcohol, but have it taxed and available only with some state-level tracking of purchases for specifically addictive substances. They do that today with psuedoephedrine here. It is a tiny hassle for me, but if it is just a little harder for meth cookers to access the amount of ingredients needed for a batch, fine.

I'm from that part of the world. The overdose death numbers have steadily gone higher, setting new record after record, in tandem with the authorities' easing of the laws on drug users over the last decade or so.

Bizarrely, the policymakers claim their accommodative policies are "working." If killing off drug users is the goal of these policies, then they'd be correct. Decriminalization will lead to a lot more young people trying out drugs, encouraged by the lifting of risk -- and dying as a result.

Stigma and fear of criminalization cause some people to hide their drug use

These Einsteins don't seem to realize that "stigma and fear of criminalization" also cause many people to not do drugs in the first place. I say this from safe, strict and old-fashioned Japan.

Better don’t tell me such news or ask me. I would extinguish the whole problem catalog at a guaranteed success rate of 100% plus x. And you might don’t want that…lol

dagonToday  07:59 am JST

The three-year exemption effective Jan. 31 will apply to drug users 18 and over and include opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA, also known as ecstasy.

Decriminalizing lets people and their acquaintances get help immediately in the case of overdose without fear of prosecution.

It's high time for Americans to stop being so high and mighty with issue too. everything here is 'well just say no, don't do it' and that doesn't work. I'm sick and tired of these of these snobby attitudes. We need to get to what leads to drug abuse, what the factors are that lead to it.

Cannabis is legal in Canada and it's taxed and regulated like alcohol is. The First Nations farmers are making a good profit from it. I smoked some in Ottawa and Quebec City in 2019, under certain restrictions as it should be. It should be legalized thruout the U.S.A. also with regulations.

RodneyToday  10:05 am JST

Cannibus should be legalized and taxed like alcohol, LSD and MDMA should be legal in controlled venues, heroin should be legally prescribed, tested and given with addict support. and with the disgusting drugs like Meth, users should be sent to remote re-education camps with hard labor and vocational training.

There's some dum-dums who really think that way. Cannabis does not hurt anyone as long as you ain't driving or operating machinery. Alcohol can and does. Those other drugs like cocaine, meth, designer drugs are just too dangerous. They should never be legal, they're just plain rotten.

The problem with drug addiction isn't what it does to the addicts - it is what it does to the community, i.e., increased criminal activity needed to support the cost of the habit, and increased social support costs for people that can no longer pay to house/feed/cloth themselves or their children.

Is Canada going back to the time frame of late60s/early70s? Those days weeds/drugs were very popular, the Hippies?

Is Canada going back to the time frame of late60s/early70s? Those days weeds/drugs were very popular, the Hippies?

Hardly. Alcohol is much worse than cannabis. Much worse.

Harder drugs are a different story, but every country needs to decide for themselves how much of a nanny-state they want to be. I'm inclined to let adults make their own choices AND have to live with the consequences for those choices.

It is called personal responsibility. If you do something bad/evil under the influence of other people, drugs, chemicals, or with devices, then it is up to you to stop. If you cannot, seek help. If you harm anyone else, be prepared for the state to provide the consequences.

As with almost anything, there are good and bad outcomes with any use.

Personal freedom is a Dog given right for all humans. Harming others, especially your children, is NOT. If you want to harm yourself or just have a bit of a buzz or high and don't harm anyone else, it isn't my place, your place, or the state's place to deny that access.

Punishing people to deal with a health crisis is as stupid as it gets. The War on Drugs started with Nixon, and they just didn't have a very good understanding of humanity at that time. They didn't realize you can't punish someone out of addition, or at least, not with much of a success rate. It's an extremely poor way to deal with a health issue, that has directly led to more problems in society than it has resolved (black-market organized crime is way more harmful to society than the drugs).

This stops wasting resources on punishing people for something they are going to do anyways, and frees up resources for policing crimes that are worth policing, and removes the inefficient 'treatment' of jail.

Good on Canada for once again being leaders in the world, showing how things should actually be done. Disagree? Look deep into how decriminalization worked out for Portugal, then come back and try to argue with me.

Is Canada going back to the time frame of late60s/early70s? Those days weeds/drugs were very popular, the Hippies?

Canada legalized cannabis in 2018. There are cannabis stores everywhere. I even smelled someone smoking it when I was out walking around last night. And yet the country is still one of the top countries in the world for quality of life and happiness. Seems the Canadians have figured out something other countries are missing...

Alcohol is much worse than cannabis.

The Japanese definitely believe the opposite is true.

The Japanese definitely believe the opposite is true.

Whereas real-world data shows the Japanese to be incorrect.

Even the police in Canada are lauding this move: https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/substance-use-is-a-health-care-issue-victoria-police-chief-lauds-drug-decriminalization-in-b-c-1.5926475

Can't write better comedy than this.

Something like 163 people a month are dying from opioid overdose in British Columbia every minth and what is Justin Trudeau's solution? Legalize fentanyl.

And recall Trudeau's bizarre reaction to the recent mass shooting in the USA.

Repeat--the USA.

He wants to put a freeze on ownership of handguns.

Of course, Trudeau is not prepared to give up the handguns and assault weapons he is surrounded with everyday, as those are carried by his bodyguards. It's ok for him to be around guns, just not you.

Something like 163 people a month are dying from opioid overdose in British Columbia every minth and what is Justin Trudeau's solution? Legalize fentanyl.

Oh dear, you think you know more than the government and police about how this should be taken care of,

Hmm, intenet hack, or advanced country with a high standard of life... hmmm, which one has more credibilty...

You just keep on pushing your war on drugs mate, because that's worked so well, right?

He wants to put a freeze on ownership of handguns.

Talking to Candians here, that's an extremely popular move. Canadians don't want guns, and they think the Americans are crazy.

I mean, let's remember, Canada is at the top of the world for quality of life, and happiness indexes. Seems they know what they're doing...

Talking to Candians here, that's an extremely popular move. Canadians don't want guns, and they think the Americans are crazy.

I think the Canadian take on firearms is smarter than the US, but they don't have the 2nd amendment in the way. Someone tried to compare having a gun and driving a car here. Owning a car isn't a right in the US Constitution. Driving is a privilege and it isn't protected on the same level as an adult owning a firearm, choosing their religion, or speaking freely in public about the USGovt or not testifying against oneself or one's legally married partner. Drug use doesn't rise to that level of protection either, but the Constitution doesn't say anything about it ... except "intoxicating liquors" in the 18th and 21st Amendments (prohibition and legalization).

Today, many in the US wonder how smart the 2nd Amendment is.

I've always enjoyed visiting Canada and generally like most Canadians. In general, they are practical people with a good mix of laws, culture, just being "nice" AND good friends. Their view from outside is a good mirror on the US. Always remember that 85% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the US border. The opposite isn't true. I shutter to think that Detroit, Fargo, Seattle, or Buffalo (or Florida!) are how Canadians see the US.

There are many things that I'd change about the US constitution today. Too many to list here.

Trying something for 3 yrs, based on what has happened in other parts of the world, seems a smart idea.

StrangerlandJune 2  11:07 pm JST

Oh dear, you think you know more than the government and police about how this should be taken care of,

Let's let this gem linger.

So you would also agree how China's government is handling the Covid crisis, and you agree how the US handles its gun issues.

Awesome, eh?!

Talking to Candians here, that's an extremely popular move. Canadians don't want guns, and they think the Americans are crazy.

I have talked to Canadians there and they say they want guns. Looks we're even on this one.

I mean, let's remember, Canada is at the top of the world for quality of life, and happiness indexes. Seems they know what they're doing...

Yeaaaah, right. Another gem.

So you would also agree how China's government is handling the Covid crisis, and you agree how the US handles its gun issues.

Oh dear, now you think China's government can be trusted. Either that or you're trying to equate the extremely corrupt and authoritarian CCP, with the democratically elected, low in corruption, Canadian government. Either way it's a silly comparison. Canada has a healthy government, while the CCP is toxic.

It's troubling that you trust the CCP so blindly.

And as for the USA - well look at their quality of life index, and their happiness index, then compare them to Canada's, then telling me Canada is doing something wrong.

Oh dear, now you think China's government can be trusted. Either that or you're trying to equate the extremely corrupt and authoritarian CCP, with the democratically elected, low in corruption, Canadian government. Either way it's a silly comparison. Canada has a healthy government, while the CCP is toxic.

You miss wildly on all attempts.

It's troubling that you trust the CCP so blindly.

Is that an opinion?

And as for the USA - well look at their quality of life index, and their happiness index, then compare them to Canada's, then telling me Canada is doing something wrong.

For starters, there are more millionaires in the US than there are people in the entire country of Canada.

Secondly, Canada relies on the US rather than the other way around. Tells you something about the quality of life in Canada.

It's troubling that you trust the CCP so blindly.

Is that an opinion?

No. You keep blindly posting data provided by the CCP and quoting it as fact. So it's not an opinion, it's an observation.

For starters, there are more millionaires in the US than there are people in the entire country of Canada.

So? The quality of life is lower in the US, and the people are not as happy. So who cares if they have more millionaires - it's not doing the two things that matter - being happy with a high quality of life.

Canada relies on the US rather than the other way around.

Goes both ways. They are each others biggest trading partners. Your thinking is binary, where it can only be going one way or the other. Meanwhile in the real-world, where things are rarely binary, Canada and America trade with each other.