Cape Town – Canada has announced that will temporarily decriminalise the possession of some illegal drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy and opioids for personal use by adults in British Columbia.
In its bid to tackle a burgeoning drug abuse problem in the province, where drug overdoses claimed the lives of more than 2 000 people, the federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Carolyn Bennett said on Tuesday that Ottawa had granted the provincial government's request for an exemption from the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for three years, starting on January 31, 2023.
“This is not legalisation … We have not taken this decision lightly,” Bennett said.
The exemption means that people 18 years and older in Canada's westernmost province will be allowed to carry up to 2.5g of some drugs for personal use. The illicit drugs include opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA, also known as ecstasy.
The trafficking, production, export and import of those drugs will remain illegal.
According to The Washington Post, nearly 27 000 people have died of drug overdose in Canada from January 2016 to September 2021.
IOL