Canada Rejects Toronto’s Request to Decriminalize Hard Drugs
The Canadian government has rejected Toronto’s plea to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of hard drugs within the city. Officials cited concerns regarding public safety and insufficient political backing as reasons for the denial.
Toronto initially presented this request in 2022 as part of efforts to address the overdose death crisis. The decision to decline the request follows British Columbia’s recent reversal of its own decriminalization policy.
This refusal marks another setback for the growing movement advocating for relaxed drug laws to better aid those struggling with substance use.
Health Canada stated that Ya’ara Saks, Canada’s Minister for Mental Health and Addictions, declined Toronto’s request, asserting that it fails to sufficiently safeguard public health and ensure public safety.
The agency expressed worry over the absence of backing from significant stakeholders, notably the Ontario provincial government. Last week, Ontario officials conveyed in a letter their firm stance against decriminalizing the possession of illicit drugs in Canada’s largest city, declaring they would not support such measures under any circumstances.
“(It) would only add to crime and public drug use while doing nothing to support people struggling with addiction,” wrote Ontario’s Health Minister Sylvia Jones in a letter penned to Toronto officials.
Toronto’s initiative garnered backing from both the Toronto Police Service and local public health experts.
Canada Refuses Toronto’s Request to Decriminalize Hard Drugs
In a letter addressed to Canada’s former Minister of Mental Health, Carolyn Bennett, last year, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health, Ms. de Villa, and Chief of Police Myron Demkiw acknowledged the proposal as a “significant departure from the current norm.” They emphasized the existence of support for a locally tailored decriminalization approach aimed at enhancing health outcomes for drug users.
“The evidence underscores that criminalizing personal drug possession perpetuates discrimination and stigma,” the letter stated. It highlighted how a criminal record could obstruct individuals grappling with addiction from accessing “meaningful employment and stable housing.”
Across much of North America, there’s a pressing struggle with a lethal opioid crisis.
In the United States, over 100,000 individuals succumbed to drug overdoses last year. Meanwhile, in Canada, the toll stands at least 42,000 deaths from opioid overdoses since 2016.
Toronto’s proposal denial follows British Columbia’s significant rollback of its decriminalization policy, which was the pioneering initiative in Canada.
BC’s program, launched as a pilot in January 2023 and intended to continue until 2026, permitted adults to possess up to 2.5 grams of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, or methamphetamine without facing arrest, charges, or drug confiscation, except in designated areas like schools and airports. However, due to objections from certain politicians and residents regarding concerns about public disorder and drug use, the province announced in April its decision to re-criminalize illicit drug use in all public spaces.
In April, the US state of Oregon also reversed its decriminalization policy, which had been in effect since 2020.
Regarded as one of the most progressive endeavors in the United States to decriminalize hard drugs, the policy faced a reversal as overdoses persisted to rise in the state, leading to mounting concerns and public outrage over open drug usage in public spaces.
