Researchers found a sharp rise in calls to US poison centers about magic mushrooms coincided with their decriminalization in several US cities and states.
Premier David Eby, joined by Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth, announce that the B.C. government is banning the use of hard drugs in public places, part of the province’s ongoing decriminalization pilot project, at a press conference in Victoria on Oct. 5, 2023.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Decriminalizing drugs is not intended as a solution to drug problems. Rather, it is a critical first step that’s necessary, but not sufficient, for replacing prohibition with a public health approach.
Decriminalisation of illicit drugs is the natural conclusion to decades of research on drug-related harms.
According to Oregon law, possessing a small amount of drugs for personal consumption is now a civil – rather than criminal – offense.
Peter Dazeley via Getty
Possessing heroin, cocaine, meth and other drugs for personal use is no longer a criminal offense in Oregon. The idea is to get people with problem drug use help, not punishment.
A back alley in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, a high-risk COVID-19 area due to the fact the vulnerable populations converge there, is pictured in January 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Drug users are already among the most marginalized and stigmatized populations in times without a pandemic. Unless we decriminalize drug use, once again they will bear the brunt of another deadly disease.