The City of Toronto has released its sweeping plan to decriminalize all hard drugs, including fentanyl and crack cocaine for any age.
Toronto’s request is even more lenient than the decriminalization order granted to the entire province of British Columbia by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier this year.
The City is asking that the federal government grant a Health Canada exemption for all drugs extending even to children.
In British Columbia’s case, the granted exemption only applies to adults. The report claims that decriminalization should be offered for “all people in Toronto, including youth.”
“Criminalization does not effectively deter youth substance use. The data show that youth in Toronto between the ages of 12 and 17 use unregulated drugs and are vulnerable to the same harms associated with criminalization as adults,” claimed the report.
Toronto’s “city-wide” exemption does not apply to child care facilities, airports or schools.