Thread by @HIVlegal

A (HAPPY) THREAD: The #Montréal city council today passed a motion to call on the #GOC to decriminalize possession of drugs for personal use. We @HIVlegal applaud this initiative and congratulate all who fiercely advocated for it. We are proud to stand among you. #drugpolicy 1/7

Today’s motion joins the growing call for #decriminalization in municipalities across Canada, including #Toronto, #Vancouver, and others. Cities now recognize the many harms of #criminalization, which marginalizes people who use drugs and pushes them away from #harmreduction. 2/7

Removing the threat of criminal law will allow people who use drugs to do so more safely. Lives will be saved. #canpoli #Montréal 3/7

We urge the City of #Montréal to follow through on this motion by requesting an exemption from the Government of Canada under Section 56 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, as the City of #Vancouver did last month. #canpoli 4/7

We urge the #GoC to issue such an exemption to any municipality that requests it and to further act to #decriminalize drugs across this country. Criminalization contributes to the public health crises of #HIV, #HCV, and #overdose, and now #COVID19 is making things even worse. 5/7

Other jurisdictions should follow suit. It’s time to change bad laws and policies and save lives. Download our primer, which outlines why and how provincial and municipal governments should request such an exemption: hivlegalnetwork.ca/site/decrimina… 6/7

Aussi disponible en français:
hivlegalnetwork.ca/site/decrimina… #canpoli #drugpolicy cc @PattyHajdu @MinJusticeEn @JustinTrudeau 7/7