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Canadian province tries decriminalizing drugs to fight overdose crisis

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By Jennifer Gauthier

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Many health experts argue decriminalization would encourage drug users to use them in safer spaces where they can access medical care.

The drug war and scheduling of drug prohibitions are failures and have never been about public health.

Mostly it has been about demonizing certain ethnicity and class and their lifestyles or ways to earn capital.

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

The article from the Lancet lays it out clearly: Tobacco is most addictive and alcohol the most damaging.

Full stop.

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What they've been doing, isn't working. They're trying something new. It can't be any worse than it already is, and Portugal has shown that decriminalizing drugs can work - though I feel that the system in Canada is missing some of the key parts that made Portuguese decriminalization work.

Good on the Canadians for recognizing that this should be treated as a health issue, rather than a criminal one.

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what dagon said.

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downtown core Canadian cities are becoming drug fuelled and crime ridden like their American counterparts, and this will make the dire situation even worse…

What makes you think it will become worse?

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Funny!

Why doesn't Japan have the overdose problems? The no go zones? The needles in parks and playgrounds, etc..?

BC has a problem because Vancouver is a warmer place than most of Canada and the drug addicts head their to have an easier time in the winter.

All this will do is increase the number of drug addicts.

We are constantly told criminalization doesn't work, again it seems to work fine in Japan.

Did it ever occur to the geniuses in the west that the general acceptance and veneration of celebrities that get caught with drugs, die from drugs and the constant excuses given may be the problem.

Many here joke about Japan with the previously accepted "I was drunk" as an acceptable reason for doing something illegal.

But the West it is far worse, oohh poor guy poor girl they have an addition problem, the celebration when they get out of rehab for the 200th time.

We have done the acceptance thing, it didn't work, maybe real consequences at a permanent will really make a dent in the problem, it seems to work in Japan, and no the fact the society is homogeneous doesn't change a thing.

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All this will do is increase the number of drug addicts.

How will that happen?

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Strangerland

Today 11:44 am JST

All this will do is increase the number of drug addicts.

> How will that happen?

Sorry

All this will do is increase the number of drug addicts in Vancouver as every Tom Dick and Jane tweaker will head there!

I should have been more precise

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All this will do is increase the number of drug addicts in Vancouver as every Tom Dick and Jane tweaker will head there!

Why wouldn't they have gone to Vancouver already? Do you think drugs were hard to find there before? Was Vancouver drug-free prior to this?

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Now will someone explain how decriminalization will reduce overdoses?

Will the drugs still be illegal to sell? Yes!

Will they still be the same deadly addictive drugs? Yes.

So the user being caught will not be arrested and will go to their whole in the wall shoot up and still overdose.

We first put Narcan in every police car, ambulance, bus etc .

Not enough more Narcan in more places it is the government's fault it it the public's fault it is everyone's fault but the user..

But that is today's society, no personal responsibility.

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I can see two sides of the problem. Addiction is a medical / public health problem. It should be treated as such and not criminalized. It should be treated. But sometimes there has to be a threat of legal consequences to convince addicts to seek treatment and complete that treatment. I am not sure persuasion by social workers regardless of their sincerity and the quality of services offered will convince some addicts to accept treatment.

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sometimes there has to be a threat of legal consequences to convince addicts to seek treatment and complete that treatment.

You don't think being a junkie is motivation enough to not want to become a junky? And how often does prison work to reform drug addicts?

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Now will someone explain how decriminalization will reduce overdoses?

It's in the article, already summarized for you. Also, there are plenty of articles on Google explaining it.

But that is today's society, no personal responsibility.

How is decriminalizing drugs removing personal responsibility? You think they don't live with the results of their actions daily? And how does prison create personal responsibility? Do you think it's logical to deal with a health issue using the prison system? Is that the most effective way to deal with it in your opinion?

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What weird minds, allowing drugs to fight drugs. They probably have already been overdosed with something else, making such a crazy decision.

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What weird minds, allowing drugs to fight drugs. They probably have already been overdosed with something else, making such a crazy decision.

So do you think they should have instead made the laws stronger, and imprison more junkies?

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I wonder how many people here remember when people said all the same things about Canada being crazy when they legalized cannabis, none of which ended up actually coming about as they predicted.

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Still no one can give a simple logical answer to how decriminalization lawyers drug overdoses!

"Many health experts argue decriminalization would encourage drug users to use them in safer spaces where they can access medical care.

Does not make sense. And has been proven false.

The key words argue and would.

This is just a guess as again no facts to back anything up.

Now what is usually used as the claim that decriminalization lowers overdose is the fact decriminalization of marijuana does because it reduces the use of opioids in addicts. But as we know marijuana is already legal so that argument doesn't work.

Portugal as an example of success like BC and CBC try using is again false.

I encourage people to look at the facts decriminalization was a minor part of the Portuguese program a very minor part and they were dealing with heroin not oipiod fentanyl.

The other thing is no answer to why Japan isn't having the same problems as the West.

Think about it, the oipiod fentanyl heroin all products in much of Asia but somehow just doesn't affect Japan as much.

Are Japanese people more intelligent? Less likely to get addicted?

Or is it the fact the society is nearly 100% against drugs and do not accept excuses, tolerant celebrities on drugs, the society doesn't go googoo eyes and praise people because they go into rehab over and over again.

Then act like it is such a tragedy when some celebrity fool kills themselves in an overdose.

Again why is Japan ok with fully criminalization of drugs but apparently that isn't supposed to work.

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“China remains the primary source of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked through international mail and expresses consignment operations environment, as well as the main source for all fentanyl-related substances trafficked into the United States,” the DEA report says.

https://trone.house.gov/2023/01/08/chinas-role-in-illicit-fentanyl-running-rampant-on-us-streets/

Fentanyl has been abused for years.

There are no fentanyl abuse problems in China. They are manufacturing t and then exporting it.

World Drug Report 2022

"Opioid NPS, which include fentanyl analogs, continue to emerge. They represented the fastest growing group of NPS identified for the first time at the global level in 2020 and constitute the most harmful group of NPS."

The two epidemics of non-medical use of opioids – fentanyl in north America and tramadol in North and West Africa, the Middle East and South-west Asia – continue to pose great health risks

https://www.unodc.org/res/wdr2022/MS/WDR22_Booklet_1.pdf

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Still no one can give a simple logical answer to how decriminalization lawyers drug overdoses!

It's not 'can't', it's just that your asking questions that have been answered extensively. And it's unclear why you think we should educate you, when you have The Google yourself. Anyways, here is the official government roadmap:

https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/BCMentalHealthRoadmap_2019.pdf

And the federal government's policy:

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-concerns/controlled-substances-precursor-chemicals/policy-regulations/policy-documents/exemption-personal-possession-small-amounts-certain-illegal-drugs-british-columbia.html

And an explanation of the success stories of Portugal in decriminalizing drugs.

https://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/portugal-heroin-decriminalization/

https://drugpolicy.org/sites/default/files/dpa-drug-decriminalization-portugal-health-human-centered-approach_0.pdf

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The other thing is no answer to why Japan isn't having the same problems as the West.

I'd say it's a combination of a few things. The first, is that Japan is an island nation and therefore it's not that easy to get the drugs into Japan. The oceans form a natural barrier. And the population density makes it not an ideal place for drug factories as well, though you would still have the same problem getting the base ingredients in the first place. And finally, Japanese people are more conformist than western nations, and will generally obey the rules. Instead, they stay with the legal drug - alcohol. If you're claiming Japan has no drug problem, you clearly haven't been out in public on a Friday night in Japan. You see drunks passed out all over the place. If they were doing illegal drugs, they'd be classified as junkies.

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It's not 'can't', it's just that your asking questions that have been answered extensively. And it's unclear why you think we should educate you,

Because you still haven't given anything.

Again everything you posted including links are all "guessing". No facts, to be exact the facts are from 2014 and shows it doesn't actually work except as I pointed out marijuana reducing used of oipiods a bit.

Portugal again CBC glossed over the real facts that it was intensive treatment programs that did the work and not decriminalization.

Try not listening to CBC a propaganda machine of the Canadian government.

When the PM says protest is part of democracy and CBC prints that but not what follows " but protesting the government policies isn't acceptable" (CTV did report that) it becomes clear CBC is not a good source for unbiased opinion.

CBC has been on the decriminalization bandwagon for years so it will find only things that support its position and that of the government.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

I'd say it's a combination of a few things. The first, is that Japan is an island nation and therefore it's not that easy to get the drugs into Japan.

Strange! If as people keep pointing out Fentanyl comes from China and much of the heroin comes from places like Afghanistan.

How do the get to Canada other than by ocean and air. So what does Japan being and island change!

The same type of Ports the difference is regulations, Japan is strict and Canada wants fast and cheap.

you clearly haven't been out in public on a Friday night in Japan. You see drunks passed out all over the place. If they were doing illegal drugs, they'd be classified as junkies.

I have plenty, nothing like the drinks, beggars, addicts on the streets of downtown Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver.

Sorry no comparison between a few drunk guys in suits passed out in Japan and the lines of addicts next to every Metro station downtown Montreal begging for money.

Tokyo 10 million plus population Montreal 1.7 million Toronto 2.9 million, Vancouver 600,000 and on any given night I will see more drunks, drug addicts and beggars on the streets of Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver.

Officially Tokyo claims around 900 homeless ( these are the real addicts and alcoholics, but NPO and non Japanese groups say it is more likely 3,900 now Toronto 10,000 to 18,000 homeless most due to drugs and alcohol, Montreal 4,000 Vancouver more than 3,000.

Is it possible Canada has a problem and decriminalizing hard drugs isn't going to fix that.

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How does fentanyl arrive in Canada?

Drugs for personal use need to be decriminalised, everywhere.

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I guess if North Korea can enter Japan and kidnap young children there are many locations where drugs could be brought ashore.

nearly 7000 islands, of which only 421 islands are inhabited.

I guess it is also about supply and demand.

Myanmar is now a big producer of opium.

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If as people keep pointing out Fentanyl comes from China and much of the heroin comes from places like Afghanistan.

Neither of which are islands like Japan... what exactly is your point?

And you do realize that people aren't doing straight-fentanyl, right? That they're doing other drugs that are cut with fentanyl to increase profits?

I have plenty, nothing like the drinks, beggars, addicts on the streets of downtown Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver.

I've seen that in Japan. Have you ever actually gone to a homeless encampment in Japan? You do realize they're just hidden, right?

Is it possible Canada has a problem and decriminalizing hard drugs isn't going to fix that.

Yes! As I said, negative nihilistic hack knows better than the Canadian government.

That said, no one i claiming this is going to get rid of drugs. You seem to have unrealistic goals for this program.

Anyways, do you feel they should double down on imprisoning addicts? Will that solve the problem? Or what is your proposed solution? Or are you just crapping on this solution with no clue whatsoever what would be better?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

wallace

Today 02:22 pm JST

I guess if North Korea can enter Japan and kidnap young children there are many locations where drugs could be brought ashore.

> nearly 7000 islands, of which only 421 islands are inhabited.

> I guess it is also about supply and demand.

> Myanmar is now a big producer of opium.

We don't agree on much but I wonder if you agree on my point, being an island Nation is not the reason drugs aren't getting in.

The precursor chemicals for meth are brought into Canada by container shipments fully legal under lacks import licensing then just disappear, over and over again.

Fentinal pretty much the same thing!

So no land bridge from China or Afghanistan or Myanmar!

So why can Japan block drugs but Canada can't?

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