The Toronto government, supported by the police and board of health, has asked the federal government to decriminalize drug possession for personal use in the city. But the Ontario premier vows to fight it.
July 6, 2023 - "Toronto Public Health, with the support of the Toronto Police Service, has recently re-applied to Health Canada to decriminalize personal use drugs within the city limits as part of their effort to tackle the opioid crisis.... Initially submitted in January 2022, the now updated application from Ontario’s capital city asks Health Canada to go beyond the exemption it recently granted to British Columbia.
"Effective Jan. 31, Health Canada granted B.C. a three-year decriminalization exemption covering adults and certain drugs — namely, opioids, crack and powder cocaine, meth and MDMA — and decriminalizes possession up to a combined 2.5 grams of otherwise illegal drugs. The Toronto Model does not outline a proposed threshold, nor does it have limitations on the types of substances one can possess. The city is asking for all drugs to be decriminalized for personal use and for the exemption to cover adults and young people. It would also extend across the city, except for schools, child-care facilities and airports.
"Toronto Public Health’s stated goal is to 'reduce the mental, physical and social harms associated with criminalizing people for possessing drugs for their personal use.' In the application itself, Toronto Police Service states their data shows that of 617 charges for possession in 2021, in 36 of these cases, possession was the only charge....
"In many countries across the world decriminalization has proven effective. Czechia, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland are among a handful of countries that have decriminalized drug use and possession for personal use and have invested in harm reduction programmes.
"According to a New York Times analysis, the number of heroin users in Portugal has dropped from 100,000 to just 25,000 today. The number of HIV diagnoses caused by injection drug use has plummeted by more than 90 per cent. Over the last 20 years, levels of drug use in Portugal are consistently under the European average, particularly with young people between the ages of 15-34.... A 2015 study found that since Portugal approved this new national strategy, the per capita social cost of substance use decased by 18 per cent."
Read more: https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/could-decriminalization-of-drugs-combat-the-opioid-crisis-7241636
Toronto's Push to Decriminalize Drugs | The Agenda | TVO Today | January 20, 2022:
“Craziest thing I’ve ever heard,” Ford slams Toronto’s plan to decriminalize hard drugs | True North - Elie Cantin-Nantel:
July 17, 2023 - "Ontario Premier Doug Ford is slamming the City of Toronto’s plan to decriminalize hard drugs, including fentanyl and meth for kids and adults.... In a Friday radio interview with Global AM 640’s Alex Pierson, Ford said Toronto’s sweeping proposal is the 'craziest thing I’ve ever heard.' 'Go out to Vancouver, go out to San Francisco,' he added amid the two cities facing major drug issues.
"'I will do everything I can to fight this,' said Ford. 'This goes up to the federal government. They cannot be following up with the request. It would be an absolute disaster for our city.'"
Read more: https://tnc.news/2023/07/17/ford-slams-torontos-decriminalization-drugs/
Toronto's Model of Decriminalizing Drugs for Personal Use | City of Toronto:
https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/94de-Torontos-Model-of-Decriminalizing-Drugs-for-Personal-use-March-22-2023-FINAL.pdf
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