Decriminalization or police mission creep? Critical appraisal of law enforcement involvement in British Columbia, Canada's decriminalization framework.

Autor: Michaud L; Graduate Program in Socio-Legal Studies, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada., McDermid J; Interdisciplinary studies program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada., Bailey A; Eastside Illicit Drinkers Group for Education, Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, Vancouver, BC, Canada., Singh Kelsall T; Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The International journal on drug policy [Int J Drug Policy] 2024 Jul; Vol. 129, pp. 104478. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jun 15.
DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104478
Abstrakt: The unregulated drug toxicity crisis in British Columbia (BC), Canada, has claimed over 14,000 lives since 2016. The crisis is shaped by prohibitionist policies that has led to the contamination of the unregulated drug supply, resulting in a surge of fatal and non-fatal overdose events. The criminalization of drug users exacerbates this situation, pushing individuals into carceral systems for the possession of and/or social practices related to drug use. This commentary examines the involvement of policing in the development, and throughout the first 15 months of its implementation, of BC's decriminalization framework. We highlight concerns regarding police discretion, the expansion of scope, and the interweaving of carceral logics into policies that purport to be public health-oriented.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest There are no conflicts of interest to declare from any of the authors.
(Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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