Psychedelics are an opportunity to do better than our past drug control strategies. Adults should be trusted to make the right decisions, but policymakers should ensure they do so fully informed.
A police policy of not making arrests for simple possession is a way to essentially decriminalize personal drug use. However, confiscating drugs — even without arrests — can be harmful in many ways.
Decriminalization helps recharacterize drug addiction as a chronic health condition instead of a criminal activity, reduces the stigma associated with drug use and improves treatment options.
British Columbia’s bold experiment provides an opportunity to implement more balance in Canadian drug policy, and a more principled withdrawal from the war on drugs.
Decriminalization is an important step in addressing the overdose crisis, but it is crucial that other approaches — like regulation — are also in place.
Research Scientist at the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use & St. Paul's Hospital Chair in Substance Use Research and Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University