OTTAWA — In the final days of the final days of the House of Commons, a Liberal MP introduced a bill proposing to decriminalize simple possession of small quantities of illicit drugs. The bill, tabled by Toronto MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, wasn’t destined to pass. Erskine-Smith has been a vocal advocate for the decriminalization of illicit drugs to combat the opioid epidemic. But Erskine-Smith said it’s time to “take the next and potentially more difficult political step” and decriminalize for small possession of illicit drugs. Portugal’s model There is a growing openness to the idea of decriminalizing illicit drugs.

Source: Huffington Post June 23, 2019 14:26 UTC