Decriminalization

Drug prohibition was meant to reduce drug use and the perceived associated harms. History has proven that it has failed on both accounts, and instead, fuelled an epidemic of drug poisonings/overdose deaths and created a dangerous illegal market supporting high-level, transnational organized crime. Prohibition was conceived of and implemented in the early 1900s and has changed little since. As revealed in Busted: An Illustrated History of Drug Prohibition in Canada, by Dr. Susan Boyd, prohibition was born out of racism—anti-Asian and anti-Indigenous sentiment that positioned European Christian culture, mindset, and philosophies as superior.

But now, a critical mass is growing in response to over a century of policy failure that has killed over 23,000 Canadians since 2016. Politicians, doctors, and leading public health officials are calling on the federal government to decriminalize drugs to save lives and protect communities after recognizing that prohibition has produced more harm than good. Evidence clearly demonstrates that it is time for a bold policy shift away from criminalization towards a health and human rights approach.