Montreal calls on Ottawa
to decriminalize all drugs
In recent months, the cities of Toronto and Vancouver, along with several smaller municipalities, have called on the federal government to decriminalize simple drug possession, as Portugal did several years ago.
Montréal fera pression sur Ottawa pour que soit décriminalisée la possession simple de toutes les drogues,
alors que le nombre de surdoses explose dans la métropole.
alors que le nombre de surdoses explose dans la métropole.
Our ways of doing things on drug addiction do not work, they are not effective, ”said Marvin Rotrand, independent councilor for the Snowdon district, who presented a motion on this subject, adopted Tuesday at Montreal city council. “In Montreal, Urgences-Santé tells us that calls for overdose interventions have increased by 300 to 400%. " On Monday, the Montreal Police Department said it was in favor of the idea, with a view to harm reduction, a position already supported by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. The city council also received the support of Montreal's director of public health, Dr. Mylène Drouin, on Tuesday. In recent months, the cities of Toronto and Vancouver, along with several smaller municipalities, have called on the federal government to decriminalize simple drug possession,
as Portugal did several years ago.
Thirteen city councilors, however, opposed the motion presented by Marvin Rotrand, fearing to send young people a message trivializing drug use. "The easier access to drugs is made, the more they will be perceived as acceptable, and the more they will be consumed and cause other victims", argued the counselor of Saint-Léonard Ouest, Dominic Perri, member of the party. Ensemble Montréal, which believes instead that we should ask for tighter control of these drugs and harsher prison sentences for dealers.
as Portugal did several years ago.
Thirteen city councilors, however, opposed the motion presented by Marvin Rotrand, fearing to send young people a message trivializing drug use. "The easier access to drugs is made, the more they will be perceived as acceptable, and the more they will be consumed and cause other victims", argued the counselor of Saint-Léonard Ouest, Dominic Perri, member of the party. Ensemble Montréal, which believes instead that we should ask for tighter control of these drugs and harsher prison sentences for dealers.
Isabelle Ducas
The Presse
The Presse