Anywho…It is too early to draw conclusions about drug decriminalization, the federal addictions and mental health minister suggested Monday, after British Columbia asked Ottawa to scale back its pilot to help curb concerns over public drug use.
In her first public remarks since B.C., made its request, Ya'ara Saks noted that the province is only a year into its three-year pilot project, which began in January 2023.
To make it happen, Health Canada issued an exemption to federal drug laws decriminalizing possession of small amounts of certain illegal drugs, including heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine.
"We're still evaluating the data," the minister said.
But on Friday, B.C. Premier David Eby asked Health Canada to amend that exemption order to recriminalize the use of those drugs in public spaces such as hospitals and restaurants.
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While adults would still be allowed to use such drugs in private, they could be arrested for using them in public.
The request followed months of backlash from residents, health-care workers, police and conservative politicians about the project's effect on public safety.
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Eby told reporters Monday that other jurisdictions can learn from its experience with decriminalization to date.
He said there must be resources in place to address public drug use.
"There are important lessons to be learned on where we are to date, that don't need to be repeated," he said.
"Addressing the public's concern around public use is critical to having their understanding about taking a health approach to addiction. Balancing those two things is core, and I hope other jurisdictions take that lesson and don't repeat our mistakes."
British Columbia
is asking Ottawa to roll back decriminalization of possession of small amounts of narcotics, led by NDP Premier David Eby — who
fought for legalized supervised-injection sites in Vancouver with the Pivot Legal Society, before becoming executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, where he advanced similar causes.
Decriminalization was something B.C. itself requested, but
a lunatic judge decided last year that “decriminalization” means people must be allowed to consume illicit, hard drugs wherever and whenever they want: playgrounds, splash pads, bus shelters.
The complainant in that court case was the Harm Reduction Nurses Association,
represented by the Pivot Legal Society.
A judge says addicts must be allowed to use wherever they want. That's the sort of lunacy the notwithstanding clause was designed for
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