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Great White North

Canadian province's experiment decriminalizing cocaine and fentanyl sensationally FAILS as overdose deaths stay the same

2026-09-15

[DM] A Canadian province's experiment decriminalizing fentanyl in an effort to drive down overdose fatalities has failed, with the death toll unchanged by the pilot scheme.

Politicians in British Columbia (BC) believed that legalizing the synthetic opioid, along with other hard drugs including heroin, methamphetamine and crack cocaine, would be a 'critical step' towards allowing users to seek help without fear of being detained.

Addicts concentrate on financing and getting their next fix, not nearly so much on the problem of getting caught — that’s the point.

Under the program, which launched January 2023, people found carrying drugs below the 2.5-gram threshold would be guided by police to social support services instead of being arrested or charged.

However, a new study published in this week's issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that the initiative did not appear to impact drug overdoses in the southwestern province, which is home to Vancouver.

'Drug decriminalization and recriminalization in BC were associated with substantial changes in police-reported drug possession incidents, but no corresponding changes in drug toxicity deaths or hospitalizations when compared to other regions in Canada,' the report reads.

'The findings suggest decriminalization is effective at reducing drug possession incidents but is insufficient in isolation to affect health outcomes.'

Posted by:Skidmark

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