Decriminalizing debate grows beyond marijuana
Making everything legal ‘crazy,’ but might help, city officials say
Decriminalizing all illegal drugs — not just marijuana — may help decrease the devastating effects of drug use and addiction in Ottawa, city officials said Wednesday.
They were responding to a suggestion by Toronto’s medical officer of health that such a drastic move could help address Canada’s spiralling opioid crisis.
Dr. Eileen De Villa told reporters last week the current approach to drugs in her city and across the country “doesn’t seem to be having the desired impact.”
She called for a public discussion on the merits of decriminalizing all drugs in the wake of an overdose epidemic that claimed more than 250 lives in Toronto in 2015.
As Ottawa continues to tackle its own fentanyl crisis, some admit De Villa’s idea — which is similarly expressed in Toronto’s 10-point Overdose Action Plan — may be worth considering.
“It’s a crazy thought, but it’s a crazy thought that might actually have some merit,” said Coun. Mathieu Fleury, whose Rideau-Vanier ward includes several areas where drug use, poverty, crime and violence intermingle. “Residents in my area and, I think, in our city understand that drug use is now much more intertwined with health care, rather than simply the Criminal Code.”
People struggling with addiction are vulnerable and have to rely on drug dealers, which in turn supports the criminal environment around drugs. Decriminalization could undercut that, Fleury said.
Dr. Isra Levy, Ottawa’s medical officer of health, wasn’t available for an interview, but said in a written statement that Ottawa Public Health supports “new evidencebased approaches that contribute to decreasing the impact of illicit drugs in our community, which could include decriminalization.
“We know that criminalization of illicit drug use can be harmful, opening up communities to illegal markets and organized crime, quickening the spread of disease and increasing illicit drug availability. There are considerations if decriminalization is to proceed that would be important to reduce harms, such as lack of access to youth, limiting marketing etc.,” the statement said.
Currently, OPH’s overdose prevention efforts include working with the interagency Ottawa Overdose Prevention and Response Task Force, co-ordinating public education and awareness campaigns about opioid overdoses, and increasing Naloxone access and distribution. It also publishes a monthly report of emergency department visits for drug overdoses.
In June, 135 people with lifethreatening or potential lifethreatening circumstances due to drug overdoses visited an ER in Ottawa. Of course, the figures do not count people who overdose and do not go to hospital.
Released in March, Toronto’s overdose action plan calls for a “public health approach to drug policy” because the current approach has reduced neither the demand for, or supply of, drugs.
Portugal decriminalized the possession of all drugs for personal use (in certain amounts) in 2001, while at the same time increasing investments in harm reduction and treatment services.
Enforcement continues to be a component of Portugal’s drug strategy, the action plan says, with efforts directed to high-level drug trafficking rather than targeting the people who use drugs.
Following decriminalization in Portugal, research found a decrease in HIV infection rates and drug-related deaths.
The Toronto plan paints a stark picture of what daily life is like for a person who uses drugs. They are often denied or afraid to use services and supports they need.
They may face eviction from their homes and sometimes have their children taken away.
They’re also forced to hide their drug use and to use drugs in unsafe ways or places, heightening the risk of overdose.
“The lack of support and compassion for people is perhaps the greatest harm of our current approach to drugs,” the report says.
“There is no other group of people who are treated so poorly because of a health issue.”
In Canada, the federal government has committed to legalizing and regulating cannabis, in part because the harms of criminalizing its use, which include high rates of incarceration for nonviolent drug offences, stigma and discrimination, were deemed to outweigh the benefits.
But there’s been little mention in political circles of widening legalization to include other drugs.
The discussion comes at a crucial time in Ottawa.
The Sandy Hill Community Health Centre last month received approval from Health Canada to open the first supervised injection site in the nation’s capital. The Nelson Street facility should be up and running by October.
Meanwhile, a new opioid substitution program, only the second of its kind in Canada, is expected to launch in September at the Shepherds of Good Hope in the ByWard Market area.
Under the managed opioid program, participants will be prescribed hydromorphone, provided by Inner City Health, which they will either inject or take orally several times a day under supervision (this differs from the Sandy Hill CHC’s supervised injection site, where injection users inject their own illegal drugs under supervision in a sterile location).
Advocates have cheered the arrival of both programs, but the police and Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson remain unconvinced.
“I have not been a supporter of supervised injection sites, as I would rather see scarce health dollars invested into treatment facilities, so that we may help those who struggle with addictions,” Watson said in a written statement after Sandy Hill’s site was approved.
“I am also concerned about the potential of increased criminal activity near these sites. However, we gave responsibility for these health decisions to our public health board, who has supported Sandy Hill’s request for a supervised consumption site. I very much hope that my concerns are not realized and these citizens do get the help they need to overcome their challenging addictions.”
The health board last year voted 9-2 in support of the harm-reduction program.
Police Chief Charles Bordeleau has also said a safe injection site will compromise public safety and that such facilities can lead to increased drug trafficking and more crime as addicts pursue cash to finance their habits.
The lack of support and compassion for people is perhaps the greatest harm of our current approach to drugs. There is no other group of people who are treated so poorly because of a health issue.