A Report that Recommends Drug Decriminalization has been Submitted to Toronto’s Board of Health
A report created by Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s medical officer of health was presented yesterday to Toronto’s board of health. In this document, its author recommends a decriminalization of all drugs for personal usage. The board is now expected to urge the Canadian government to reconsider its drug policy.
Drug use should be treated as a public health issue
In her report, Dr. de Villa states that it would be much more beneficial for the Canadian society if the drug use wouldn’t be treated as a criminal offense, but rather as a public health issue. She also strongly encourages the city of Toronto to influence the government of the North American country in order to change the way it approaches the drug use problem.
The board of health’s reaction to the report
After the board of health received and analyzed the report, the body decided to urge the federal government to organize a special task force, whose main responsibility would be to find the best possible solution to the drug use problem. Such a team would have to thoroughly study the options of legal regulations for all drugs found in Canada, in accordance with the “drug use as public health issue” approach.
According to Health Canada, the government of the North American country has no intention to either legalize all drugs or to decriminalize them, at least not in the near future.
The drug issue that Canada is facing
As Dr. Eileen de Villa stated, her report was an answer to the nationwide problem of opioid usage. In 2017 alone, the city of Toronto recorded 303 deaths that were caused by opioid overdose. This number means a terrifying increase of 63 percent in comparison with the previous year.
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