I supported this program at first, but it was apparent that it failed pretty early on. It just made it so that addicts felt safer doing it in the open more.
The government weren’t going to do everything suggested as well, financially it was a black hole for everything supporters wanted.
They wanted 100% government funded care, treatment, housing, support, counseling. Along with the decriminalization.
I can only imagine what the price tag would be, the other problem is that any places chosen for low cost housing for people in these programs were all shut down from NIMBY’s who didn’t want the housing build in their neighborhoods.
It was DOA from the start, because the first pillar to getting off drugs would be affordable housing, and those who lived in the area’s shut them down before they could be built. And the only places the government could house people like this were in the downtown core, which has been linked to an increase police presence and people feeling not safe and increased crime.
Sadly, the project was a failure. It would probably requires billions in funding to get it up and running and it would require the government to stone wall NIMBY’s to build the housing required to shelter people.
Prestigious_Net_8356 on
# What Canada failed to learn from drug decriminalization in Portugal
Experts say Canada adopted Portugal’s language of decriminalization, but not the system features that made it a success
You mean letting addicts use supplied drugs in the middle of Street didn’t work????!!!!Â
AshleyAshes1984 on
>Canada Province
Strong ‘This news website is gonna try to send you a scam eTransfer email to steal your login credentials’ vibes from a website that says ‘Canada Province’.
jatd on
Imagine if a conservative government tried something as ridiculous as this, heads would roll. But because its a liberal/progressive government, it’s the effort that counts, you tried your best.
5_Little_Luck on
Excellent
PythonEntusiast on
No shit. We need to go full Syngapore on drugs.
GamesCatsComics on
I strongly support the idea of decrim…. But the implementation was garbage.
Like don’t punish people for having / using drugs, but it shouldn’t have been a free for all. It should have been treated like smoking and alcohol, can’t get drunk there, can’t get high there.
But the police and government just… Backed off.
They should have been also an increased push for treatment and mental health on top of that.
I’m very disappointed how it was done, but based on the way they did it I’m glad it’s over. Though it makes me frustrated that it won’t be done right.
Wolfman-101 on
Another failed liberal/NDP policy that we were gaslighted into thinking was actually working and compassionate.
When anyone with common sense would know supplying drugs to drug addicts was just going to make things worse for the addicts and everyone around them. Stuck in an endless cycle of suffering instead of hope in recovery.
Who doesn’t love inhaling crack fumes while taking public transportation? Or finding needles on every single park bench? Or literal zombie apocalypse in every downtown area?
Hour_Significance817 on
It wasn’t just not working. It never would have worked, things are back to square one except that the public coffer is at least about a few million dollars lighter.
Ill-Theory-8909 on
Way to half ass it Eby
Kind_Blood_9556 on
I understand the desired outcome and the reason for trying this . But some people don’t want to change and there is no healthy fear of the system for most of these individuals. It was all but guaranteed to fail.
Barbarella_39 on
Death’s have gone down under decriminalizing drugs … politicians are playing with people’s lives for votes!
CameronPhotography on
How come we never allowed public intoxication to help alcoholics recover? I would love to swig a 2’6 at the beach to show my support.
FosilSandwitch on
Is Barrons the best angle to evaluate the situation? They will be bias towards market and profits and not rehabilitation…
u_395djk on
There’s a difference between supporting and enabling. Supporting someone means helping them take responsibility and be part of the solution. Enabling, on the other hand, removes accountability and keeps them stuck where they are.
The_King_of_Canada on
They should have left it criminalized in public but decriminalized for personal use.
That seems like an obvious distinction. Just dont arrest people for having some drugs on their person.
The fact that they overlooked this makes me think it was designed to fail.
grand_soul on
No one tell the Ontario sub. They’ll outright ban you for supporting this.
18 Comments
I supported this program at first, but it was apparent that it failed pretty early on. It just made it so that addicts felt safer doing it in the open more.
The government weren’t going to do everything suggested as well, financially it was a black hole for everything supporters wanted.
They wanted 100% government funded care, treatment, housing, support, counseling. Along with the decriminalization.
I can only imagine what the price tag would be, the other problem is that any places chosen for low cost housing for people in these programs were all shut down from NIMBY’s who didn’t want the housing build in their neighborhoods.
It was DOA from the start, because the first pillar to getting off drugs would be affordable housing, and those who lived in the area’s shut them down before they could be built. And the only places the government could house people like this were in the downtown core, which has been linked to an increase police presence and people feeling not safe and increased crime.
Sadly, the project was a failure. It would probably requires billions in funding to get it up and running and it would require the government to stone wall NIMBY’s to build the housing required to shelter people.
# What Canada failed to learn from drug decriminalization in Portugal
Experts say Canada adopted Portugal’s language of decriminalization, but not the system features that made it a success
[https://www.canadianaffairs.news/2026/01/13/what-canada-failed-to-learn-from-drug-decriminalization-in-portugal/](https://www.canadianaffairs.news/2026/01/13/what-canada-failed-to-learn-from-drug-decriminalization-in-portugal/)
Could it have been this?
You mean letting addicts use supplied drugs in the middle of Street didn’t work????!!!!Â
>Canada Province
Strong ‘This news website is gonna try to send you a scam eTransfer email to steal your login credentials’ vibes from a website that says ‘Canada Province’.
Imagine if a conservative government tried something as ridiculous as this, heads would roll. But because its a liberal/progressive government, it’s the effort that counts, you tried your best.
Excellent
No shit. We need to go full Syngapore on drugs.
I strongly support the idea of decrim…. But the implementation was garbage.
Like don’t punish people for having / using drugs, but it shouldn’t have been a free for all. It should have been treated like smoking and alcohol, can’t get drunk there, can’t get high there.
But the police and government just… Backed off.
They should have been also an increased push for treatment and mental health on top of that.
I’m very disappointed how it was done, but based on the way they did it I’m glad it’s over. Though it makes me frustrated that it won’t be done right.
Another failed liberal/NDP policy that we were gaslighted into thinking was actually working and compassionate.
When anyone with common sense would know supplying drugs to drug addicts was just going to make things worse for the addicts and everyone around them. Stuck in an endless cycle of suffering instead of hope in recovery.
Who doesn’t love inhaling crack fumes while taking public transportation? Or finding needles on every single park bench? Or literal zombie apocalypse in every downtown area?
It wasn’t just not working. It never would have worked, things are back to square one except that the public coffer is at least about a few million dollars lighter.
Way to half ass it Eby
I understand the desired outcome and the reason for trying this . But some people don’t want to change and there is no healthy fear of the system for most of these individuals. It was all but guaranteed to fail.
Death’s have gone down under decriminalizing drugs … politicians are playing with people’s lives for votes!
How come we never allowed public intoxication to help alcoholics recover? I would love to swig a 2’6 at the beach to show my support.
Is Barrons the best angle to evaluate the situation? They will be bias towards market and profits and not rehabilitation…
There’s a difference between supporting and enabling. Supporting someone means helping them take responsibility and be part of the solution. Enabling, on the other hand, removes accountability and keeps them stuck where they are.
They should have left it criminalized in public but decriminalized for personal use.
That seems like an obvious distinction. Just dont arrest people for having some drugs on their person.
The fact that they overlooked this makes me think it was designed to fail.
No one tell the Ontario sub. They’ll outright ban you for supporting this.