Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday about drug decriminalization in British Columbia, and said that his government has had interest from cities like Toronto and Edmonton that would like to follow in BC's footsteps.
BC received an exemption from Health Canada allowing it to decriminalize possession of certain illicit substances between 2023 and 2026, as it is among the hardest hit jurisdictions in the world for the opioid crisis, with overdose deaths claiming the lives of over thousands every year.
"I think every step of the way we need to make sure that a) we're following science and data, and that's exactly what we're doing," said Trudeau.
On Tuesday, the province announced that it had obtained an exemption from Health Canada allowing the province to decriminalize possession of small amounts of illicit substances.
"Adults who have 2.5 grams or less of the certain illicit substances for personal use will no longer be arrested, charged or have their drugs seized. Instead, police will offer information on available health and social supports and will help with referrals when requested," the BC government says.
The list of illicit drugs that fall under the new program include opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine, and MDMA.
Trudeau continued to say that the act of decriminalizing drugs required focus to ensure that there are "different ways to support people."
"But, you don't want to do it without the system and the supports in place, and that's what we're really focused on with BC, to make sure that it wasn't just flipping a switch, that it was actually building up capacity and making sure that there are many, many different ways to support people, whether it's safe supply, whether it's measures that surround the decriminalization," he said.
"That's why working with the jurisdiction that wanted to do it was a priority for us, and of course, we've already heard cities like Toronto and Edmonton interested in taking this on as well. We're going to work with them and make sure that every step of the way that if we move forward it is not just a single solution, that it is a full wrap-around approach that we're trying to create."
Yesterday, BC Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson told reporters in Vancouver that decriminalization is not legalization.
"British Columbia brought together a diverse group," she said, "including Indigenous partners, people with lived experience, health and social service providers, municipalities, law enforcement, advocacy organizations, and clinical and research experts, to craft our decriminalization framework."
"Let me be clear," Malcolmson said. "Decriminalization is not legalization."
She explained that decriminalization "will support enforcement efforts to focus on organized crime and drug traffickers instead of on individual users," thus allowing police to focus on the suppliers, and users to focus on getting the help they need.
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