Toronto health authorities call for decriminalization of drugs

MONTRÉAL – Director of the Montreal Public Health Department Welcomes a Recent Report of the Toronto Board of Health Urging the Federal Government to Decriminalize All Drugs

Mylene Drouin Supports the Report Calling for a Drouin states in a statement that decriminalization will certainly be on the agenda of provincial and national health meetings, as this is one of the measures being considered as part of a response to unprecedented policy. 4,000 opioid deaths in 2017

A Health Canada report released last month reveals that nearly 4,000 Canadians have died from an apparent opioid overdose in 2017, including 303 related deaths. opioid overdose in Toronto

. This prompted the Toronto Board of Health to urge a federal task force to explore "options for the legal regulation of all drugs in Canada based on a public health approach".

Health Cana da said that the government is not currently seeking to decriminalize or legalize all narcotics.

The overdose is lower in Montreal, but local health officials claim that it is because of several initiatives put in place in recent years, including access to naloxone kits and an increase in number of supervised injection sites. In Montreal, the number of deaths from probable overdoses of opioids was 140 for a period of just over a year, ending June 30.

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The Montreal Health Authority Declares Documented Efforts to Decriminalize Personal Use Drugs Use, including in Portugal, demonstrates a marked reduction in stigma and abuse HIV infection, as well as the number of lawsuits. The Government of Quebec announced this week that it is investing $ 35 million a year in the prevention and treatment of addiction – two-thirds of this amount being spent on the prevention of opioid dependence.

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