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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

ROTHENBURGER – We don’t have a moral obligation to give drug users free rein

CHALLENGES TO NEW restrictions on public consumption of illicit drugs show just how far things have gotten out of whack in our society. Increasingly, it seems, those who indulge in antisocial behaviour receive favoured status.

Bill 34, which came into effect as the Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act last week, is the Eby government’s answer to complaints from multiple municipal councils about the unintended consequences of decriminalizing possession of small amounts of illicit drugs.

In effect, it’s an effort by the government to fix a problem it created. The three-year decriminalization pilot went into effect early in the year and is supposed to destigmatize hard drug use and encourage addicts to get help ...

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Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and former newspaper editor. He publishes the Armchair Mayor opinion website.

Published with permission of author

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