Region to vote on endorsing decriminalization of simple drug possession

For the past three years, a person in Waterloo Region has died every few days from accidental overdose.

Regional staff are recommending council endorse decriminalization of simple drug possession at a meeting Wednesday. The recommendation is based on a paper written by the Waterloo Region Integrated Drug Strategy (WRIDS), a collective of people from sectors including public health.

Waterloo Region has the sixth highest rate of opioid-related offences in Canada and the secondhighest in Ontario. Most are for possession.

If council endorses the idea, the region would lobby the provincial and federal governments to change the laws and provide more funding

Police data suggest about 24 people have died so far this year from suspected accidental overdose

for harm reduction efforts.

“I think the evidence is pretty clear that we’re not going to criminalize people out of drug addiction, and the positive consequences of decriminalization certainly outweigh the negative ones,” Coun. Tom Galloway said in an interview.

It’s estimated 24 people have died so far this year from suspected accidental overdose, according to data from Waterloo Regional Police.

The staff and WRIDS reports were prepared in response to a presentation to regional council by members of the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council in March.

The presenters urged council to support the legalization of all drugs with strict regulation. That would see all drugs treated like tobacco, alcohol and marijuana.

Council endorsed that stance in principle, but had asked staff to report back.

Michael Parkinson worked on drug strategy for the crime prevention council, until it was shut down in March.

He said the region’s recommendation doesn’t go far enough. Decriminalization wouldn’t solve drug-related violence or get rid of the toxic street drug supply that is killing people.

“The upstream solution is most definitely in legalization with strict regulation,” he said. “For example, it reduces overdose deaths and injuries and is a non-violent solution to eliminating drug-related violence at mid to upper levels of the trade — decriminalization does not do that,” he said.

The staff recommendation is straight out of a policy paper by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, he said. The chiefs, as well as Ontario’s Big City Mayors and several municipalities, are calling on the federal government to decriminalize simple drug possession. That would mean people wouldn’t face criminal charges for carrying a certain quantity of unregulated drugs for personal use.

The goal is to reduce stigma and deaths because people would be less likely to use alone.

One province and one municipality have decided they can’t wait for the federal government to institute decriminalization across the country. The British Columbia government and the City of Toronto have applied to Health Canada for exemptions from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to decriminalize simple possession of unregulated drugs.

According to media reports in April, Health Canada is considering B.C.’s request to decriminalize personal possession of 4.5 grams of cocaine, methamphetamine and opioids, or a combination of those drugs, but would likely decrease the allowable amount to 2.5 grams.

Galloway said he wasn’t familiar with the exemption, but if the region were to consider such a move he would want to see how it played out elsewhere first.

A council endorsement Wednesday isn’t expected to lead to any new regional measures to deal with the drug poisoning crisis such as expanded safer supply.

Galloway said property taxes aren’t intended for health programs, though the region is happy to function as a provider of those services on behalf of the federal and provincial governments.

“That’s a debate that we would have to have and a conversation with the community that we would have to have on whether we want to start using property taxes for that kind of purpose,” he said.

There is currently one consumption and treatment site in the region, in downtown Kitchener. Consumption and treatment sites provide a safe place for people to use drugs with a set of eyes on them to prevent accidental overdose or drug poisoning deaths.

A safer supply program also operates out of that site.

Safer supply provides prescription medications in place of unregulated street drugs to prevent overdoses and deaths.

Read the WRIDS and regional reports at calendar.regionofwaterloo.ca/council.