Canada--Federal Government Urged By All and Sundry to Decriminalise Simple Posession

[SunriseChampion]

Ottawa urged to decriminalize simple drug possession as overdose deaths reach record highs

A growing number of officials and organizations in Canada, including police and prosecutors, are calling on the federal government to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs.

Benjamin Perrin, a professor of law at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, says if Ottawa refuses to change the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, B.C. should challenge the law in court under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"I have no doubt, based on the current evidence, that ... using the criminal law to prohibit people from possessing drugs who have substance use disorders violates the charter. Full stop," said the former justice adviser to Stephen Harper.

Last August, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada issued a directive asking federal lawyers to avoid prosecuting simple drug possession cases unless there are major public safety concerns and to pursue only "the most serious" cases.A month earlier, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police issued a report calling for decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use, stating that "merely arresting" people is ineffective and that police forces are inconsistent when it comes to handling cases of possession.

The article goes on to show how posession charges are on a downward trend in Canada and uses Oregon's decriminalisation as an example to watch.

Since the Public Prosecution Service issued the directive to avoid most posession prosecutions last summer this has started to move rather quickly, with Vancouver city council voting unanimously in November to ask the federal government (all drugs laws are criminal code, thus federal jurisdiction) to exempt the city from posession laws.
There have also been numerous exemptions given to terminally ill patients so that they can use psychedelics to ease their psychological pain as well as exemptions given to psychologists, doctors, therapists, and other researchers to try psychedelics on themselves to assess their value in the context of psychedelic therapy.

What's next? A patchwork of exemptions can be challenged by anyone charged with posession as being unconstitutional because it applies the law unequally to different groups of people.

A patchwork of exemptions is also untenable and confusing.

Next step is full decriminalisation of drug posession in Canada. Unfortunately the federal government is a minority government with tentative support from some opposition parties so it's possible that an election is forthcoming this year, though one isn't required by law until at least 2023.

This being politics and given the plague, decriminalisation isn't exactly a priority for the federal government though future stability should be ensured if the budget passes which is forthcoming before the end of March.

If I were a betting man (and I am!) I'd wager that posession of drugs is decriminalised in Canada within five years.....either sometime after this spring, before the next budget goes before parliament next year...or, at the latest, within a year of the next federal election.

 

[thegreenhand]

If I were a betting man (and I am!) I'd wager that posession of drugs is decriminalised in Canada within five years.....either sometime after this spring, before the next budget goes before parliament next year...or, at the latest, within a year of the next federal election.

I’m moving up there

 

[Joey]

Im betting its less then 5 years. If an american state can decriminalize under the trump administration, we can decriminalize with Trudeau within the next year or two.

 

[SunriseChampion]

I’m moving up there

You lot always say that at or near an election.

 

[thegreenhand]

Oh trust me I’ve been planning to leave the US for many years now. Not necessarily Canada as my main choice, but I’m fed up with large parts of the culture here