B.C. receives exemption to decriminalize possession of some illegal drugs for personal use

[Rider420]

I'm going on a three year bender lol just kidding but I'm definitely celebrating with some MDMA!

B.C. receives exemption to decriminalize possession of some illegal drugs for personal use | BC Gov News

British Columbia is taking a critical step toward reducing the shame and fear associated with substance use as the federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health announced the granting of a three-year exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act...

news.gov.bc.ca

British Columbia is taking a critical step toward reducing the shame and fear associated with substance use as the federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health announced the granting of a three-year exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) to remove criminal penalties for people who possess a small amount of certain illicit substances for personal use.

This exemption will be in effect from Jan. 31, 2023, to Jan. 31, 2026, throughout British Columbia. The Province will work with a broad range of partners to implement this policy change, including the federal government, health authorities, law enforcement, people with lived and living experience, Indigenous partners and community organizations to establish the public health and public safety indicators in order to monitor and evaluate the outcomes of this exemption in real time.

This exemption is not legalization. These substances remain illegal, but adults who have 2.5 grams or less of the certain illicit substances for personal use will no longer be arrested, charged or have their drugs seized.

“Substance use is a public health issue, not a criminal one,” said Sheila Malcolmson, B.C.’s Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. “By decriminalizing people who use drugs, we will break down the stigma that stops people from accessing life-saving support and services.”

 

[moose eater]

85-95 years overdue.

 

[moose eater]

The exemptions seem to provide something very similar to what Portugal did quite some time ago, and which, at least initially, led to major successes, despite the frightened, up-tight, propagandized nay-sayers who, in classic prohibitionist knee-jerk fashion, seemed to believe that 'once the gate was lifted a bit', every young person in that Country would be booting up poorly-refined street crank or stepped on heroin.

Simply not what happened at all.

Portugal initially (and maybe still?) saw a reduction in addiction #s, people with addictions being more willing to step forth and ask for help once penalties and some of the stigma(s) were reduced or removed, and 'alternate recreational vice users' with no other criminal issues were no longer clogging up the courts and jails. A win-win for nearly everyone.

 

[Rider420]

B.C. poised for drug decriminalization experiment, but will it help stem deadly tide? - BC News

People living in tents along about eight blocks of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside roam around on a chilly afternoon as some in the throes of addiction are hunched over on the sidewalk near storefronts.

www.castanet.net

"On Jan. 31, B.C. will become the first jurisdiction in the country to start what will be a three-year experiment on decriminalization allowing drug users aged 18 and over to carry a combined 2.5 grams of opioids like heroin and fentanyl, as well as cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA, also known as ecstasy. The federal government is currently reviewing an application by the City of Toronto, but it does not include any thresholds."

Just like cannabis legalization BC leads and the rest of Canada follows.

 

[goingrey]

"The estimated lethal dose of fentanyl in humans is 2 mg."

So 2.5 grams is enough to kill 1250 people. Sounds like a lot.

 

[RobFromTX]

The exemptions seem to provide something very similar to what Portugal did quite some time ago, and which, at least initially, led to major successes, despite the frightened, up-tight, popagandized nay-sayers who, in classic prohibitionist knee-jerk fashion, seemed to believe that 'once the gate was lifted a bit', every young person in that Country would be booting up poorly-refined street crank or stepped on heroin.

Simply not what happened at all.

Portugal initially (and maybe still?) saw a reduction in addiction #s, people with addictions being more willing to step forth and ask for help once penalties and some of the stigma(s) were reduced or removed, and 'alternate recreational vice users' with no other criminal issues were no longer clogging up the courts and jails. A win-win for nearly everyone.

And now portugals crime rate has plummeted. It totally worked

 

[RobFromTX]

"The estimated lethal dose of fentanyl in humans is 2 mg."

So 2.5 grams is enough to kill 1250 people. Sounds like a lot.

Ive read about people dropping to the floor just by touching something with residue on it. Heavy shit

 

[goingrey]

Ive read about people dropping to the floor just by touching something with residue on it. Heavy shit

Yeah I have also heard these stories but also some pretty credible people debunking them as not possible. Makes you wonder. Are the stories just some bs, or a coverup for snorting some on purpose? Or are the so-called experts actually wrong? With so small amounts needed, the possibility of accidental inhalation causing it is quite real even if transdermal overdosing is unlikely, I guess.

 

[moose eater]

Yeah I have also heard these stories but also some pretty credible people debunking them as not possible. Makes you wonder. Are the stories just some bs, or a coverup for snorting some on purpose? Or are the so-called experts actually wrong? With so small amounts needed, the possibility of accidental inhalation causing it is quite real even if transdermal overdosing is unlikely, I guess.

Purity matters, and many street dealers are greedy, while some are aware of potential manslaughter or murder charges if/when a customer ODs, goes into a coma, and/or someone talks.

Either way, the prohibitions have only made the markets more lucrative, while doing little to nothing to stop or curtail deaths.

 

[RobFromTX]

Yeah I have also heard these stories but also some pretty credible people debunking them as not possible. Makes you wonder. Are the stories just some bs, or a coverup for snorting some on purpose? Or are the so-called experts actually wrong? With so small amounts needed, the possibility of accidental inhalation causing it is quite real even if transdermal overdosing is unlikely, I guess.

Maybe. Ive seen a lot of coverage. But hey you pick your poison. I have a 40 year old cousin i grew up with that has to wear a shock vest because of his meth abuse

 

[goingrey]

This has been a public service announcement.

 

[moose eater]

And now portugals crime rate has plummeted. It totally worked

If you look into the Liverpool Project, in the UK in the early 1980's, the clinic was paying ~$4/gram for synthetic coke and heroin, and providing it for free to local street addicts.

Part of the program required participation in case management, including seeking and hopefully maintaining legal employment, and being free of any participation in criminal activity.

Street/property crime in the vicinity of the clinic went down by ~65%.

Persons participating agreed to UA's for the purpose of establishing they were addicts; somewhat ironic, as cocaine, stimulants, and amphetamines aren't physically addictive in the classic sense/definition.

Employment support included finding day care for those with kids.

Targeted dosage was more or less 'maintenance', as opposed to, "HEY!! LET'S PARTY!!" Though, having observed behaviors among methadone program participants it might be naive to assume partying didn't continue for some.

Among the findings, and very much contrary to stereotyping, many parents who were addicts (as well as the childless addicts) could work a regular job responsibly AND, for those with children, be decent parents.

The Program was terminated by the UK Gov. during the Reagan years, reportedly in part due to pressure from the US gov (Reagan Administration) during our 'zero tolerance' years.

I have an old crusty home-recorded VHS tape here someplace, of an interview (maybe '60 Minutes?) with the head Doc in that program, a shrink, who spoke of most of their clients/addicts who'd died, dying from abscesses and street cut, as opposed to clean dope.

The program included teaching addicts how to maintain a rig properly to avoid infection. While Nancy Reagan was going on about, "JUST SAY NO" (which Abby Hoffman likened to telling a 'manic depressive' person to "just be happy") the Liverpool Project staff were saving lives, reducing street crime, and teaching 'junkies' to stay healthy, in part by teaching them the importance of not sharing needles, and how to keep syringes clean.

Ironically it was the outset of the AIDS epidemic, and even just from a fiscal point of view, the cost of treating just one patient with AIDS, for a year or 2, was off the charts. The whole thing made sense from all vantage points, but narrowness and politics shut it down.

Edit: My dates and cost per gram were off by a bit.

Here ya' go. And better replay than my old crusty VHS tape.

 

[RobFromTX]

If you look into the Liverpool Project, in the UK in the early 1980's, the clinic was paying ~$4/gram for synthetic coke and heroin, and providing it for free to local street addicts.

Part of the program required participation in case management, including seeking and hopefully maintaining legal employment, and being free of any participation in criminal activity.

Street/property crime in the vicinity of the clinic went down by ~65%.

Persons participating agreed to UA's for the purpose of establishing they were addicts; somewhat ironic, as cocaine, stimulants, and amphetamines aren't physically addictive in the classic sense/definition.

Employment support included finding day care for those with kids.

Targeted dosage was more or less 'maintenance', as opposed to, "HEY!! LET'S PARTY!!" Though, having observed behaviors among methadone program participants it might be naive to assume partying didn't continue for some.

Among the findings, and very much contrary to stereotyping, many parent addicts could work a regular job responsibly AND be decent parents.

The Program was terminated by the UK Gov. during the Reagan years, reportedly in part due to pressure from the US gov (Reagan Administration) during our 'zero tolerance' years.

I have an old crusty home-recorded VHS tape here someplace, of an interview (maybe '60 Minutes?) with the head Doc in that program, a shrink, who spoke of most of their clients/addicts who'd died, dying from abscesses and street cut, as opposed to clean dope.

The program included teaching addicts how to maintain a rig properly to avoid infection. While Nancy Reagan was going on about, "JUST SAY NO" (which Abby Hoffman likened to telling a 'manic depressive' person to "just be happy") the Liverpool Project staff were saving lives, reducing street crime, and teaching 'junkies' to sty healthy, in part by teaching them the importance of not sharing needles, and how to keep them clean.

Ironically it was the outset of the AIDS epidemic, and even just from a fiscal point of view, the cost of treating just one patient with AIDS, for a year or 2, was off the charts. The whole thing made sense from all vantage points, but narrowness and politics shut it down.

My aunt was a lead nurse in Dallas when the outbreak happened. Not only was the treatment outrageously expensive but it was very hard to get the staff to trust the patients. A lot of them quit out of fear because they didnt know a thing about it at that point, didnt even want to be in the same hospital much less room with them. And then they had to find contract nurses that would be willing to deal with the patients which just made the situation even more dire and expensive. All while the fat cat pharmaceutic companys just got even fatter

 

[moose eater]

My aunt was a lead nurse in Dallas when the outbreak happened. Not only was the treatment outrageously expensive but it was very hard to get the staff to trust the patients. A lot of them quit out of fear because they didnt know a thing about it at that point, didnt even want to be in the same hospital much less room with them. And then they had to find contract nurses that would be willing to deal with the patients which just made the situation even more dire and expensive. All while the fat cat pharmaceutic companys just got even fatter

A family member runs a clinic dealing (initially) with HIV/AIDS, but also a methadone/suboxone program, and a needle exchange. Good folks doing a good job, which for years suffered stigmas and much more.

 

[moose eater]

Morley's equating 100% pure free-base quality coke to crack is a complete misnomer and incorrect. Crack is predominantly baking soda. Free-base refined (in the past ether-cleansed) cocaine is pure cocaine; totally different critters.

 

[moose eater]

My aunt was a lead nurse in Dallas when the outbreak happened. Not only was the treatment outrageously expensive but it was very hard to get the staff to trust the patients. A lot of them quit out of fear because they didnt know a thing about it at that point, didnt even want to be in the same hospital much less room with them. And then they had to find contract nurses that would be willing to deal with the patients which just made the situation even more dire and expensive. All while the fat cat pharmaceutic companys just got even fatter

People were dying, and some of them couldn't even get a family member to hold their hand or embrace them, some were fired from jobs due to irrational fears among co-workers (putting even more on the public medical tab), and more. It was a seriously sad time.

Ryan White became a poster child for those who had contracted AIDS/HIV via transfusions from an unsafe blood supply, but there were many who contracted the disease via unclean/shared syringes.

Clean syringes ranged from ~.02 cents USD back then (bulk) to about .09 cents USD now (also bulk). To think of the lives that could have been saved, and the $Billions to $Trillions spent on varying degrees of effective treatments, for less than a dime per syringe, is mind-boggling. Heart-wrenching.

 

[Frosty Nuggets]

Aids does not exist, it is the AZT that is killing people.
Viruses do not exist, they are the leftovers from treatment to make a sample available to an electron microscope, this process destroys cells and the leftovers are called viruses.
Electron microscopes take photos not video, no so called virus has ever been observed entering a cell, replicating inside the cell or bursting out of the cell.

 

[Rider420]

Smoking a joint enjoying my freedom while narcs cower in fear. You got to love KARMA.
Aclohol kills 3 million people per year Tobacco kills 7 million people per year while illicit drugs kill about half a million mostly due to toxic drug supply.
Funny how I can handle alcohol, cannabis, meth, cocaine, gambling, fast food, video games, LSD, magic mushrooms and opioids without getting addicted. The only drug I had a hard time putting down was tobacco but I quit it in 2000 mind you I do use cannabis and caffeine daily as well but by choice rather then need.
Addiction is real but it's knowing which drugs are really addictive to you and which are not and avoiding using the more highly addictive drugs more then once a month or year is the answer. That or a high dose of psychedelics if your already addicted.

 

[moose eater]

Smoking a joint enjoying my freedom while narcs cower in fear. You got to love KARMA.
Aclohol kills 3 million people per year Tobacco kills 7 million people per year while illicit drugs kill about half a million mostly due to toxic drug supply.
Funny how I can handle alcohol, cannabis, meth, cocaine, gambling, fast food, video games, LSD, magic mushrooms and opioids without getting addicted. The only drug I had a hard time putting down was tobacco but I quit it in 2000 mind you I do use cannabis and caffeine daily as well but by choice rather then need.
Addiction is real but it's knowing which drugs are really addictive to you and which are not and avoiding using the more highly addictive drugs more then once a month or year is the answer. That or a high dose of psychedelics if your already addicted.

I don't know about any 'narcs' cowering in fear in this thread, but yes, addiction, including physical addiction, is a personal metabolic thing.

I never did a substance that I couldn't easily walk away from, including tobacco and -significant- amounts of daily cocaine (which is more psychologically addictive than physically addictive; dopamine effect), but many others' metabolisms and physical make-ups are not as fortunate or resilient.

And yes, the number of GI's studied in re. to SE Asian opium and heroin use/abuse, who returned to the US without ongoing habitual use patterns, points to not only there being differences from person to person re. addiction/metabolism, but also to the classic 'set and setting' as being a part of the equation, too.

If a person is not aware of their limitations, it's best to be wary. The same vices I've had little to no problem managing years ago, have been disastrous for many others.

And to complicate matters, your body, mind, and metabolism change over time.

If I were to ingest an 1/8 or less of the uncut coke I once did, experience from limited involvement 20+ years ago tells me it would likely literally kill me. The amazing resilience I had for cocaine 40 years ago is no more.

Knowing your own limitations is critical.

 

[moose eater]

Aids does not exist, it is the AZT that is killing people.
Viruses do not exist, they are the leftovers from treatment to make a sample available to an electron microscope, this process destroys cells and the leftovers are called viruses.
Electron microscopes take photos not video, no so called virus has ever been observed entering a cell, replicating inside the cell or bursting out of the cell.

After MANY persons have experienced the debilitating nature of AIDS w/o ever having been exposed to AZT, nor their blood while within their bodies having been exposed to electron microscopes, I am highly doubtful of that perspective having legitimacy.

You were kidding, right? .