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In response to serious opioid issues, Canada decided to introduce the decriminalization of the possession of heavy drugs in its particular territories. According to the government, this measure will help release the burden of the justice system and concentrate on health and the ways of its promotion within the framework of the prevention of drug use. Analyzing the rationale of this decision, this work aims to provide arguments against it. In other words, the decriminalization of heavy drugs is an inefficient measure for the prevention of their use as it deals with the consequences of this issue rather than its major causes, such as inadequate health practices, poor education, and economic and social inequities.
The growing rates of opioid use disorder (OUD) and the number of opioid-related deaths have become one of the most disturbing issues in the healthcare system of Canada. According to Belzak and Halverson, “while the opioid crisis has affected every region of the country, western Canada (British Columbia and Alberta) and the northern territories (Yukon and Northwest Territories) have experienced the highest-burden” (224). In British Colombia, probably the most affected province, in 1993, the number of opioid-related deaths did not exceed 330; however, in 2017, there was an increase of 400% with 1473 deaths (Fischer et al. 81). In response to this devastating situation, the government decided to focus on health care excluding opioid-related problem from the competency of the justice system.
Thus, starting January 31, 2023, an exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act will be implemented in British Colombia for three years. According to it, individuals (18 years and older) “will not be arrested or charged for possessing small amounts of certain illegal drugs for personal use. The total amount of illegal drug(s) must be equal to or less than 2.5 grams” (British Colombia par. 5).
These drugs include opioids, methamphetamine, cocaine, and MDMA; at the same time, their traffic, purchasing, and use in public places remain illegal. According to lawmakers, the criminalization of these drugs’ possession cannot improve the problem associated with opioid misuse. Moreover, it contributes to more negative consequences – the legal punishment of drug users will not prevent them from drug misuse. However, incarceration and its consequences may create additional social issues.
At the same time, the analysis of the situation shows multiple factors that should be addressed in order to minimize the rates of opioid misuse rather than deal with its consequences. Thus, according to Fischer et al., in the 1990s, “overdose deaths were primarily from combined heroin and cocaine injecting” of drug users with HIV (81). However, later, Canada increased the prescription of opioids and other heavy drugs for medical use, implementing and expanding opioid substitution treatment and supervised consumption sites. That is why “since the early 1980s, the volume of opioids sold to hospitals and pharmacies for prescriptions in Canada has increased by more than 3000%” (Belzak and Halverson 225). At the same time, the organization of research and investments in medical science for the identification or creation of safer substituents of opioids for patients with cancer or mental health issues could minimize the prescription of opioids and their potential misuse.
While the decriminalization of opioid use aims to promote safe supply and decrease the popularity of the illegal market, medical prescription does not prevent non-patients from drug abuse. There are multiple routes of opioid supply for non-medical use, including prescription-related fraud and forgery, “double doctoring,” Internet purchases, robberies and thefts, and street drug markets. In addition, according to Health Canada, “the most common source of opioids used without a prescription was a family member” – in other words, prescribed opioids may be shared among relatives (Belzak and Halverson 225). In addition, the mixing of drugs and alcohol consumption is an additional factors in opioid-related deaths. In turn, the education of citizens, along with the spread of awareness related to the negative consequences of drug use, could prevent its potential misuse in non-patients.
Finally, opioid misuse is connected with other serious social issues, such as racism, discrimination, and poverty. As multiple research states, homeless individuals and “First Nations populations across the country are heavily impacted by high rates of problematic substance use” (Belzak and Halverson 226). In addition, adolescents are highly vulnerable to opioid misuse as well. In these cases, addiction and associated consequences are caused by economic, educational, and employment issues, along with the stigmatization of asking for help and the absence of reliable assistance. In other words, due to structural racism connected with unemployment, poverty, unavailability of health care, mental health illnesses, and the absence of culturally competent health care providers, people are involved in drug use and potential misuse. Thus, paying attention to other social issues for the improvement of people’s welfare may prevent opioid issues more efficiently than drug decriminalization.
All in all, it is possible to say that the idea of help as the basis of decriminalization may be regarded as right – the punishment of drug users may create more challenges than solve the problem of drug misuse. However, it is not efficient as it does not address the main factors of drug misuse, including social, educational, health care, and economic issues that exist in society. In turn, the improvement of people’s well-being, the spread of awareness concerning the harmful effects of drugs for non-patients, and the absence of stigmatization of their medical use will genuinely decrease the seriousness of the current situation.
Works Cited
Belzak, Lisa, and Jessica Halverson. “Evidence Synthesis-The Opioid Crisis in Canada: A National Perspective.” Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada: Research, Policy and Practice, vol. 38, no. 6, 2018, pp. 224-233.
British Colombia. “Decriminalizing People Who Use Drugs in B.C.” British Colombia. 2022. Web.
Fischer, Benedikt, et al. “The Opioid Death Crisis in Canada: Crucial Lessons for Public Health.” The Lancet Public Health, vol. 4, no. 2, 2019, pp. 81-82.
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