Feds won’t decriminalize any drugs besides cannabis, despite calls from cities
OTTAWA — The federal government says it will not consider decriminalizing drugs beyond marijuana, despite calls from Canada’s major cities to consider the measure.
As the opioid epidemic washes over the country, Montreal and Toronto are echoing Vancouver and urging the federal government to treat drug use as a public health issue, rather than a criminal one.
Montreal’s public health department has just thrown its support behind a report released recently by Toronto’s board of health which urges the federal government to decriminalize all drugs.
Mylène Drouin, the director of Montreal’s public health department, said last week that she is in favour of Toronto’s report and that decriminalization will be on the agenda at provincial and national health meetings.