Policing is no longer the answer to the drug problems we have in Canada. It’s not just me saying this. A growing chorus of voices in Canadian society are promoting the idea that criminalization of drugs is not working in the context of our current crisis in drug-related deaths. Now, the police are saying it.
The Vancouver Police Service says that criminalizing people who use drugs is wrong-headed. Instead, the police are saying that we should be offering people who use drugs a safe supply. Earlier this year, Victoria police went on record saying the same thing.
I did not expect that the police would be on board with the idea of a safe drug supply. But, it makes sense from their perspective. The drug problems that the police see are largely those of addiction. Support, treatment and providing drugs that are not contaminated with poison are better ways to respond to drug addiction than arresting users and chasing down illicit drugs.
Addiction is one problem
We have several drug problems in Canada. Addiction is one of them. That’s a health and social issue. I say ‘health’ because there are physical and psychological mechanisms of addiction for many drugs and there are also treatments. The social aspect of drug addiction has to do with the fact that it’s not just a personal problem. It’s a gendered, classed, racialized issue. Drug harm disproportionately affects men and people who are already socially disadvantaged due to racism, classism, poverty or other marginalization.
The “opioid crisis,” where access to and use of opioids has skyrocketed, is another Canadian drug problem. Again, a health and social issue with important links to the Big Pharma.
Tainted drugs is another problem
The problem that took Archie away from us is the toxic additive that drug sellers are putting in their wares: fentanyl. This last one is the one that’s made the street drug supply unsafe. Fentanyl won’t descriminate. Whether you’re addicted to drugs, experiencing mental health problems, taking something for pain or taking something for pleasure, if it’s tainted with fentanyl it can kill you.
Obviously, all these problems are linked. For that reason, the same strategy that public health officials and now the police are urging to save the lives of drug users can also put an end to the tainting of drugs with fentanyl or other synthetic toxins. Decriminalization of drugs for personal use and the creation of a safe supply of drugs go hand in hand. Once drugs are not illegal, people can more freely source, test and consume their drugs. This is a big step toward ending the black market where poisoning drugs is now commonplace in Canada.
The police are right. We need to urgently provide a safe supply of drugs.
Archie MV 