A western Canadian province on Tuesday (January 31st) decriminalized the possession of small amounts of heroin, fentanyl and other hard drugs, a first in the country and a radical change in policy to try to stem the opiate crisis, which has killed thousands of Canadians.
"
The situation has never been more urgent
," said Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, on the eve of the entry into force of the measure.
At his request, British Columbia, five million inhabitants, is the first Canadian province to have this exception, experienced so far only in the American state of Oregon and in Portugal.
Devastated communities
“
The effects of this public health crisis have devastated communities across British Columbia and across Canada
,” she added.
When this measure was announced last May, she specified that this project could be applied in other provinces.
British Columbia, the epicenter of this crisis in Canada, has recorded more than 10,000 overdose deaths since it declared a state of health emergency in 2016. Six people a day.
And during the first wave of the pandemic in May 2020, the number of overdose-related deaths in British Columbia exceeded the death toll from the coronavirus, plunging the province into a double health crisis.
Read alsoJuan Manuel Santos: “The decriminalization of drugs works wherever it is applied”
So starting Tuesday, January 31 and for a period of three years, adults can carry up to 2.5 grams of drugs for their personal use.
So far, the most serious cases of possession of hard drugs have involved fines and jail time.
Lift taboo and isolation
Kathryn Botchford, whose husband Jason died of a drug overdose in 2019, hopes the change will lift some of the shame around drug use to allow people to seek help.
"
When I found out how he died, I thought there must be a mistake
," she says.
She was unaware that he was taking drugs “
But I was wrong.
He died alone using an illegal substance
, ”adds this widow who now raises their three children alone.
Stigma and shame around drug use “
cause people to hide their addiction
,” confirms Bonnie Henry, BC public health officer.
“
It means that many people die alone
,” adds the one who has long advocated for a new policy.
Getting people to turn to health services
For Scott MacDonald, a doctor at a Vancouver clinic that was the first in North America to provide patients with medical-grade heroin, the new policy will cause people to turn more to the health services "
which they so often need
.
The fact that the police no longer confiscate their drugs, he told AFP, will also reduce their stress.
Canada has invested more than C$800 million since 2017 to directly respond to the opiate crisis, which has been largely responsible for the stagnation in life expectancy in recent years.
"
There is no single solution to prevent or reduce overdose deaths, but this policy is a start
," said Minister Bennett.
The first assessment drawn from the experience in Oregon is however so far very mixed, underline experts, in particular because of the lack of access to treatment.
Arrests have dropped dramatically and this has unburdened the justice system, but few people have accepted treatment and overdoses have increased.
“
Their efforts to get people to seek treatment have completely failed
,” psychologist Keith Humphreys, a researcher at Stanford University, told AFP.
The allocation of funds has been chaotic and incredibly slow, denounce doctors, in this state where the healthcare system is one of the worst in the United States.
Isabelle Fortier, representative of the Canadian organization "
Moms stop the harm
", whose daughter died of an overdose in 2019, confirms the importance of a global policy.
"
It's not going to solve everything
," she told AFP.
“
But maybe it can help, by preventing people from taking a slippery slope and being further stigmatized because they have a criminal record.
»