British Columbia becomes first in Canada to decriminalize cocaine, heroin, and meth
The Canadian province has removed criminal punishments for those caught with hard drugs.
Stewart Perrie
British Columbia has become the first province in Canada to largely decriminalize hard drugs.
People who live in the region who are over the age of 18 will be allowed to carry 2.5 grams of things like cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine and morphine.
It's part of a three year experiment to see if decriminalization can help impact drug use.
Portugal made headlines around the world in 2001 when they removed criminal punishments for drug possession.
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According to Drug Policy: "Since Portugal ceased criminalizing drug use, the results have been dramatic.
"The number of people voluntarily entering treatment has increased significantly, while overdose deaths, HIV infections, problematic drug use, and incarceration for drug-related offenses have plummeted."
The US state of Oregon also attracted worldwide attention when it did the same for heroin, methamphetamine, LSD, oxycodone and other drugs.
The jury is still out on whether that program has been a success.
But it seems like British Columbia is embarking on Canada's first foray into the controversial region.
The province says those who are caught with 2.5 grams or less of a hard drug 'will not be arrested, charged or have their substances seized', according to the BBC.
They will instead be offered information on the health and social services that are available for drug use.
Carolyn Bennett, Canada's federal Mental Health and Addictions Minister, is keen to see how people in BC react to the new system.
“Every day, we are losing lives to overdoses from the increasingly toxic illegal drug supply," she said in a statement.
"We are committed to stopping this tragic epidemic with bold action and significant policy change.
“By supporting British Columbia in this exemption to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, our government is providing the Province with the ability to help divert people away from the criminal justice system and toward the health and social services they need.
"We look forward to continuous collaboration with the Province to measure the public-health and public-safety outcomes, help save lives and bring an end to this crisis.”
More than 9,000 front-line police officers have been briefed on how to respond to people with drug possession.
People under the age of 18 have been reminded that if they're found in possession of any amount of illegal drugs then they 'are subject to the federal Youth Criminal Justice Act, which offers them alternatives to criminal charges in some cases'.