Adults in British Columbia will be allowed to possess small amounts of some illicit drugs starting next year, the federal government announced Tuesday — a move that marks a dramatic shift in Canada's drug policy.

The federal government says Canadians 18 years of age and older will be able to possess up to a cumulative 2.5 grams of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA within British Columbia. The announcement is in response to a request from the province for an exemption from the law criminalizing drug possession.
This first-of-its-kind exemption will go into effect January 31, 2023 and last until January 31, 2026, unless it is revoked or replaced before then. The exemption means there will be no arrests, charges or seizures for personal possession at or below the 2.5 gram threshold.

Federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Carolyn Bennett and her provincial counterpart Sheila Malcolmson announced the policy shift together in Vancouver today.
The city has been the site of a surge in drug overdose deaths which accelerated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. B.C. saw 2,224 suspected toxic illicit drug overdose deaths in 2021 and over 9,400 since 2016.

Read the full CBC article: www.cbc.ca/news/politics/opioid-crisis-bc-canada-1.6471878

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Solutions to End the Drug Poisoning Crisis in Ontario: Choosing a New Direction   
[May 5, 2022] - [Ontario, Canada] - In Ontario through the pandemic, more residents than ever turned to drug use to cope with anxiety, isolation, and fear - often using, overdosing and dying alone. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the drug poisoning situation has escalated. A recent study on Ontario showed that between February and December 2020, there was a 79% increase in the number of opioid-related deaths across Ontario from 139 to 249. Since then, in the first half of 2021, rates of fatal drug poisonings more than doubled in 15 of 34 public health units across the province, with an increase in opioid-related deaths per 100,000 across all health units in Ontario from 7.9 to 14. More than 14,000 Ontarians have lost their lives to drug poisoning in the last five years - almost all preventable deaths.

Addictions and Mental Health Ontario (AMHO) has launched an election website to promote engagement on challenges facing the addiction and mental health sector: https://notimetowaitontario.ca/

As the beginning of the election coincides with Mental Health Week, this is an opportunity to contribute to a national dialogue on mental health and addiction. Visit AMHOs website to learn more about the issues, download  social media assets, or send a letter directly to your local candidates calling for a better mental health and addiction system.
In the 2022 provincial election, AMHO calls on all political parties to commit to:

• Implementing a strategy to address growing wait times for mental health, addiction, and substance use health services.

          Including baseline funding increases to community-based mental health, addiction,
          and substance use health providers by 8% ($120M annually).

• Developing and implementing a Health Human Resources plan to address the staffing challenges in the sector.

          Including working towards wage equity to achieve wage parity with the hospital
          sector and removing compensation caps for workers on the front lines.

• Responding urgently to the escalating overdose crisis and the drastic rise in overdose deaths.

          Including restriking the Ontario Emergency Opioid Task Force.

• Using a social determinants of health approach in designing and implementing mental health and substance use supports and services.

          Including increasing the supply and access to supportive housing units and ensuring
          people with lived and living experience (PWLE) are actively engaged as partners in
          designing the system of care.