Kudos to Squamish council for standing up in support of taking at least baby steps toward decriminalization and maybe even legalization of illicit drugs.
This week, the group Moms Stop the Harm, which is a collective of mothers — including some in Squamish — whose children have died due to drug overdose penned a letter to council that asked elected officials to pass a resolution calling on the federal government to declare the opioid crisis a national health emergency.
It also asked that steps be taken, such as legally regulating illicit drugs to ensure a safe supply of pharmaceutical alternatives to toxic street drugs, and decriminalization for personal use.
As Doors’ drummer John Densmore is famously quoted as saying, “The first drum beat we all heard was our mother.”
Our council followed that mothers’ drum beat.
Bravo and thank you to those women, who in their unbelievable burden of grief are trying to make change so other families don’t go through their hell.
Of course, these steps should go hand-in-hand with better access to health care, treatment and social services.
Simply diverting people away from the courts and jail time will not be enough.
“It is important that we provide safe, non-judgmental and compassionate pathways to support individuals experiencing substance use challenges to access harm reduction services as well as support and recovery services,” Mayor Karen Elliott told The Chief before the vote in council.
“I have made Vancouver Coastal Health and our local Member of Parliament aware of our desire for safe supply in Squamish.”
For years, there has been a drumbeat of demand for decriminalization from groups such as Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, and from advocates like Garth Mullins and from many in Squamish as well.
Dr. Bonnie Henry supports the move, too.
Heck, even the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, has also come out this year in support of decriminalization of personal possession.
The drumbeat is getting louder and louder, as the BC Coroners Service reports 162 illicit drug deaths across the province in October, equalling five lives lost every day.
What we as a society have been doing is not working.
It is time to try something else.
Last week, City of Vancouver council voted unanimously to ask the federal government to decriminalize possession of small amounts of illicit drugs.
Portland, Oregon has measures coming into effect Feb. 1 that reduce possession of small amounts of illicit substances, such as heroin, MDMA, methamphetamine, and cocaine from a felony to a misdemeanor.
But change is always resisted, thus, bravo to our council for being on the right side of history on this one.
We can make the drumbeat even stronger by letting local MLA Jordan Sturdy and MP Patrick Weiler know that it is time to stop the war on drug users and treat this crisis as the urgent health crisis it is.
