Olivia Cao / Edge Columnist
On June 3, Canada’s government has announced that it will allow the province of British Columbia to try an experiment from January 31, 2023 to January 31, 2026, in removing criminal penalties for people who possess a small amount of certain illicit substances for personal use.
This exemption is an important step forward in reducing drug stigma and deaths from overdoses. According to the report, over 2,200 people died in B.C. in 2021 due to illicit-drug overdoses, with half of those happening in a private home, often when people are alone. Last year was the deadliest year on record for suspected illicit drug toxicity overdoses in the province, with 2,224 deaths, an increase of 26 percent from 2020.
“The shocking number of lives lost to the overdose crisis requires bold actions and significant policy change,” said Carolyn Bennett, federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health. “Eliminating criminal penalties for those carrying small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use will reduce stigma and harm and provide another tool for British Columbia to end the overdose crisis.”
The drug problem in B.C. has become very serious and it needs to be addressed as soon as possible. Since the stigma of addiction and the fear of criminalization, causes many addicts to hide their addiction and use drugs alone. The Canadian government’s decision to honour the request from the provincial BC government to this temporary decriminalization helps push these drugs’ usage to become a health issue and not a criminal one, which greatly reduces the stigma for addicts. If addicts don’t hide their drug use any more, the number of overdose deaths would probably decrease significantly.
According to the article, mothers who are drug addicts have had their children taken away, as they are thought to be unfit mothers. These women have a hard time getting jobs because employers might not want to hire someone who they believe are drug addicts.
Samantha Li, grade 11, said, “Although I know it’s wrong to discriminate against addicts, I still go the other way out of fear when I see them and avoid contact with them whenever possible.”
As discrimination against addicts is still very common, decriminalizing some drugs is a groundbreaking way to give more tolerance and care to drug addicts to reduce their shame, and then overdose deaths would also decrease.
Bennett said it could serve as a template for other jurisdictions across Canada. “This time-limited exemption is the first of its kind in Canada,” she said. It is very meaningful for Canada if this first attempt is very successful, and other jurisdictions will have a good example of how to address the drug problem.
Sources:
“Over 2,200 people died in B.C. in 2021 due to illicit-drug overdoses, coroner reports”
“B.C. receives exemption to decriminalize possession of some illegal drugs for personal use”
“Canada to decriminalize some drugs in British Columbia for three years”
“Discrimination against drug addicts”