VICTORIA—Jagmeet Singh says he’s witnessed the devastation of British Columbia’s opioid overdose epidemic and it breaks his heart.
The federal New Democrat Party leader said he visited an overdose prevention site in Vancouver this week where he saw people struggling with addiction and learned how to administer the overdose-busting medication Naloxone.
Singh told about 2,000 delegates attending the B.C. NDP convention on Saturday that Canada’s drug laws should reflect that drug addiction is a social justice issue and not a criminal justice matter. He called on the federal government to declare opioid addiction a national crisis.
Singh drew a standing ovation when he said the New Democrats would decriminalize personal possession of all drugs, not just marijuana.
“I saw that people’s lives are being destroyed while the federal government does little or nothing and it breaks my heart,” he said. “I saw with my own eyes the devastation of the opioid crisis.”
nonplussed__ on November 5th, 2017 at 17:00 UTC »
here's a really good comic book explanation of the Rat Park study.
It was a study done on rats that connected poor quality of life/opportunities with drug use, disturbingly not only before trying the drugs but also during the possibility of continued drug use.
ie, Rats that had used, but otherwise still had good lives, had less desire to continue using an available drug than the rat in an empty cage.
lurkitysplit on November 5th, 2017 at 15:29 UTC »
I agree with him on this. Other countries have taken this approach and had very good results.
Considering how long it's taken us to legalization of marijuana and how limited that legalization is, I'd say Singh has his work cut out for him.
freeasabee1 on November 5th, 2017 at 14:53 UTC »
“To me poverty, mental health and addictions don’t sound like criminal justice problems,” he said. “They sound to me like a social justice problem.That’s why I’m calling for the decriminalization of all personal possession offences when it comes to drugs to make a difference in the lives of people and actually bring real change.”