Motivated by racist fears about the expanding influence of Asia, the Minister of Labour introduced Canada’s first federal illicit drug law, the Opium Act of 1908. The criminalization of marijuana and opium reveals that our drug laws have frequently stemmed from abject ignorance and blatant racism, rather than from any evidence-based approach to reducing harm. This evidence-free illicit drug “strategy” comes with tremendous costs which, incidentally, are paid by every Canadian. An increasing number of deaths are the result of the unregulated market, as illicit drugs are frequently contaminated with benzodiazepines and the potent opioid fentanyl. The task force also included as an “urgent priority” a recommendation to scale up the safe supply of illicit drugs.

Source: thestar August 21, 2022 07:13 UTC