By Gurleen Buttar
OTTAWA- Carolyn Bennett, Canada’s new mental health minister is actively looking into the decriminalization of possession of small amounts of drugs such as heroin, fentanyl, crack, or powder cocaine and methamphetamine.
Over the next five years, Bennett will distribute the promised $4.5 billion in new federal health transfers to the provinces and territories. They are aimed at providing free, accessible mental health services.
B.C. has applied to Health Canada for an exception from the federal Controlled Narcotics and Substances Act in order to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs.
Some drug users and others working on the front lines of the overdose problem have argued that the 4.5-gram restriction is around one day’s supply and that the legal possession should be far higher.
During the pandemic, the opioid issue has gotten worse over time, with deadly overdoses and emergency room visits due to opioids on the rise in many sections of the country.
Bennett had a meeting with the B.C. Center on Substance Use yesterday and her B.C. colleague, Sheila Malcolmson, today will be “very essential,” she says. Bennett went on to say that she’ll look into what can be done in a “timely” manner to start the decriminalization and safe supply work.
The Trudeau government has been hesitant to decriminalize simple drug possession in its entirety, but they are actively working on certain pilot initiatives to give safer medicinal alternatives to dangerous street narcotics.
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