Vancouver mayor calls for drug decriminalization after record year for opioid overdoses
The police department has a progressive drug policy that does not target individual drug users unless that drug use interferes with public safety
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson is calling for the decriminalization of personal drug use and possession following the release of new numbers that show more than 4,000 Canadians are believed to have died of opioid overdoses last year – with nearly 10 per cent of them in the city. The mayor said Vancouver has long committed to treating drug use as a health issue, but that his recent and explicit calls to decriminalize are a direct response to an overdose crisis that has killed an average of one person every day in the city.
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