Two views: harm-reduction vs. policing

Cross Country Checkup looked at whether hard drugs should be decriminalized. One of the guests on the program was Richard Elliott, Executive Director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. Richard talked about growing support for harm reduction programs in some countries.

Elliott was joined by James, a caller from Vancouver. James has worked in the field of law enforcement for 17 years, and shared his thoughts.

Cross Country Checkup9:19October 2, 2016 - Richard Elliott and James

Richard Elliott was joined by James, a caller from Vancouver, who disagrees about the correct approach to hard drugs.

A law enforcement perspective

James: I've talked to people in a setting where they've been clean and sober for a number of years and then they go back out in the street and the first thing they do is they use. I don't understand how a person can deal with their substance abuse issues in a setting where there is no substance abuse and as soon as they get out the first thing they do is go to go to their dealer. So giving them heroin or crack or whatever it is that they're being given is a form of enabling. We're enabling bad behavior and I don't see where it's going to stop.

Richard Elliott: If you are in a position where you are able to get a quality controlled supply of a substance so that you will know it doesn't have all sorts of adulterants that could potentially be dangerous and potentially deadly for you, and you don't need to engage in any criminal activity to get that substance, then you are in fact not enabling bad behavior. You are enabling people to protect their health better with the positive outcome for the broader community of reducing the criminality that may be associated with acquiring the drug.

I think we can certainly say that criminalizing people for possessing those substances is not part of the solution.

James: In 17 years, Richard, I haven't seen anybody being incarcerated for using substances. I have seen them being incarcerated for trafficking a controlled substance.

RE: It is a criminal offense in the law of Canada at the moment to possess a whole slew of substances.

On the Canadian government and harm reduction

RE: I think we're seeing an important shift on the part of the Canadian government just in the last year. Canada on the international stage has gone from being one of the countries that was actively opposing harm reduction notwithstanding all of the evidence we have of its benefits to supporting harm reduction at the UNand in international forums and taking an important step forward with this commitment to legalize and regulate cannabis.

Richard Elliott's and James' comments have been edited and condensed. This online segment was prepared by Erin Pettit.