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“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

HARVARD POLITICAL REVIEW: A Canadian Province Experiments with Hard Drugs

 


... In 2001, Portugal took a radical measure to combat its drug epidemic. It decriminalized all illicit drugs, choosing to treat addiction as a medical matter, not a criminal one.

 

Two decades later, facing a drug crisis of its own, the Canadian province of British Columbia chose to follow in Portugal’s footsteps. In January 2023, British Columbia temporarily removed criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA, and opioids. The policy was implemented as a three-year pilot program, authorized by an exemption from the federal government’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

 

While some politicians, including Conservative Leader Pierre Poillievre, have fiercely criticized the government’s more lax drug policies, the reality is that they have yet to be fully tested. We are only a few months into this experiment, and the province’s approach to drugs is still taking shape. B.C. still has decisions to make regarding mechanisms for diverting people toward support, the permissible quantities for personal possession, and expansions of safe supply programs ...

 

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