Vancouver Just Voted to Decriminalize All Drugs

published on November 25, 2020 by Rachel Browne in VICE

Vancouver city council unimously voted on Wednesday to proceed with a plan to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of all illicit drugs—from heroin to meth—as a way to help curb the province’s worsening overdose crisis that has been exacerbated by the pandemic and an increasingly toxic street supply.

Pending approval from the federal government, the city would become the first in Canada to decriminalize illicit substances, and comes shortly after Oregon became the first U.S. state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of all drugs.

“Vancouver has once again decided to lead the way on drug policy in order to save lives.” Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart, who brought forward the decriminalization motion, said in a statement after the vote…