Decriminalize possession of small amounts of illegal drugs, Toronto's top doctor recommends
CBC
Toronto should decriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs as a response to the worsening opioid overdose crisis, recommends a new report from the city's medical officer of health.
The report, signed by Dr. Eileen de Villa, was released publicly Monday and will go before the Toronto Board of Health at its next meeting on Dec. 6.
If approved by the board, it would direct de Villa to officially ask the federal government to exempt people within Toronto's geographical boundaries from criminal charges for possessing small amounts of drugs for personal use. Drug trafficking, including production and sale, would remain illegal.
Toronto would become the second major Canadian city, after Vancouver, to ask Health Canada for such an exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which regulates the possession, distribution and sale of unregulated drugs in Canada.
"The status quo approach to the drug poisoning crisis is not working," the report reads.
"There is an urgent need for a comprehensive public health approach to drug policy that removes structural barriers to healthcare and social services, provides alternatives to the toxic drug supply, and enhances and expands services to improve the health and well-being of Toronto's communities."
De Villa's recommendation is one of many that seek to expand the city's approach to the toxic drug crisis and would continue a trend toward treating drug use as a public health issue, rather than a criminal justice one.
Her report also recommends the city push higher levels of government for additional funding so that it can expands safe supply programs, harm reduction services and treatment initiatives. And it calls for more resources for overdose outreach beyond homeless shelters to parks and drop-ins, and mobile drug consumption services outside of downtown.
"It is important to note that decriminalization alone will not solve the drug poisoning crisis," the report reads. "Seeking an exemption from criminal penalties for personal possession is only one part of a comprehensive approach."
The report says decriminalization can help people who use drugs connect to harm reduction and treatment services, along with other social services such as housing, without fearing criminal charges or discrimination.
It also cites evidence showing that criminalization of drug possession disproportionately impacts Black and Indigenous people, those suffering from mental health issues and the recently-incarcerated.
Jason Stateman, a drug user for the past 25 years, told CBC News it's about time that drug use is treated as a medical issue, instead of a criminal act.
"The people that are doing it aren't doing it because they like to. In fact, they're doing it because they have to and they're sick," he said.
Under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the federal Minister of Health can provide municipalities and provinces with an exemption from the provisions that criminalize drugs if there is a medical purpose or if it is deemed to be in the public interest.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.
Thoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility.
A memorial to remember lives lost to gender-based violence was held in Charlottetown Friday, ahead of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, which is marked annually on Dec. 6.
A Calgary dentist who defrauded five insurance companies over a decade should spend up to three years in prison, the prosecution argued Friday.
B.C. Conservation Officer Service says it has called off its search for a bear responsible for an attack on a group of school children in Bella Coola, B.C. on Nov. 20.
The union president called it a rally for solidarity as Iqaluit Housing Authority employees gathered Friday while negotiations are ongoing between the Nunavut Employees Union and the employer.