Oregon drug decriminalization results were not studied by the BC Ministry of Mental Health before embarking on a radical change in law, Global News revealed recently. Oregon’s overdose deaths climbed and very few people called any help hotlines listed in police-distributed services referral handouts. “Oregon Health Authority reports that just 0.85% of 16,000 persons who requested services in the first year of decriminalization entered treatment.“
Dr. Julian Somers, says his own BC study confirmed only 3.8% of drug users were charged with possession-related offences anyway. So decriminalization isn’t going to do much, he asserts.
A recent poll for Global News confirms BC residents are pretty evenly split on the topic of decriminalization.