Toronto medical officer sees drug decimalization as 'health issue,' despite Ford's opposition

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he will fight Toronto’s request to decriminalize drugs for personal use. This comes after BC change course on a similar experiment. We talked about that last week on the show and is now making drug use illegal in public spaces or has asked the federal government to allow that to happen. You got to be kidding me, like letting people do cocaine and crack and heroin. You got to be kidding me. I will fight this tooth and nail a view on the issue. The Prime Minister says there’s no active application from Toronto to decriminalize drugs, in part because the Premier is not on board. Earlier this morning, I spoke to Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health, Doctor Eileen Davila, about Trudeau’s comments and why she believes that drugs should be decriminalized in Toronto. Doctor Davila, nice to see you this morning. Nice to see you as well. I so I understand that Toronto has submitted a proposal to decriminalize drugs for personal use, but I’m sure you noticed as well. On Friday, the Prime Minister said there’s no active application from Toronto. What what do you make of that response from him? Well, you’re right, Rosemary. We did as the City of Toronto put forward a request to the federal government for an exemption from the existing federal law around drugs, so that people who have an addiction and may be in possession of a small amount of drugs or drugs for their own personal use don’t get arrested for that. And fundamentally what that’s about is recognizing that addiction is at its core a health issue, not a criminal issue. So we put in that request in 2022, we put in some follow up information in 2023 and we continue to have regular conversations with our colleagues at Health Canada. So we’re trying to adopt A fulsome approach to this issue of addiction, which is a health issue. And note that the same approach has been actually spoken about and advocated for by people like the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, like the Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario. Complex health issue demands a complex and fulsome response. I I think part of what the Prime Minister was suggesting, as I’m sure you know, is that the the premier is not, the province is not backing this idea. In fact, Doug Ford has said he plans to fight it tooth and nail. What conversations have you had with his government about them allowing this to happen or supporting this request? Well, in addition to the conversations that we’re having with folks at Health Canada, we do have regular conversations with our provincial counterparts as well. And you know, Rosemary, at the end of the day, I know that this issue, as much of A complex health issue as it is, engenders a lot of feelings, lots of opinions. So in that conversation, right, it’s a pretty complex conversation. But in that conversation, you know, it’s actually my role to make sure that I’m providing the best possible advice based on the best possible evidence. And I think it’s important that people recognize that a policy intervention like decriminalization, which aims to create a safer environment for those who are experiencing addiction and recognizing it as a health issue, that kind of policy intervention is just as much a part of public health practice as, say, for example, controlling an outbreak. So we are trying to provide the best possible advice with the best possible evidence. But at the end of the day the policy decisions rest with the decision makers who are the elected officials. When you say you’re considering and you look at the evidence to provide the best advice, what do you make then of the decision by British Columbia to re ask for the federal government to re criminalize drug use in public spaces. How has that affected your position and the application it given that that is some concrete evidence that part of this plan for them didn’t work. Well, what I heard from the folks in BC is that there is still a recognition that addiction is a health issue and should be treated as such. The challenges that they were talking about and the the updated request to the federal government to modify the existing exemption has more to do with having some more tools to address public use. So, but here’s the situation. At the end of the day, decriminalization is actually about treating addiction as a health issue. It’s actually not about saying that public use is OK, nor is it about saying that selling or trafficking drugs is OK. It’s actually about treating addiction as a health issue. What we’re seeing with public use right now is frankly addiction worsened by the existing housing crisis that we’re experiencing everywhere in this country, not just in BC. And further to that point, I would note that we are seeing challenges with public use not just in BC but in other places throughout Canada and I would say throughout the world where there continues to be criminalization of addiction. So it’s not quite as simple as it might look on the circle. For sure. It’s all you’re right. It is a very complex issue. I want to ask you a couple questions about your proposal because it is different than what British Columbia has. You, for instance, don’t, I believe, have a cap on how much, how much drugs a person could possess. And you also would like the exemption to apply to young people 12 to 17. Can you explain to me why those two things are important? Yeah. So the model that we put forward to Health Canada as part of our request for an exemption under the existing law is what I would characterize as a Made in Toronto model based on the experiences of both people with lived experience of drug use here in Toronto and as well the experience of people who are providing services to people who use drugs. We also did involve members of the community. We’ve asked members of the community around what’s important to them and at the goal. The goal at the end of the day is really around making sure that we prevent addiction wherever possible, that we support those who develop addiction to, to protect their health, to reduce harms for them and as well to create safe communities. We want communities to be thriving and for people to be able to enjoy public spaces. So. But but doctor, why? Why should that apply? Yeah, why should that apply to minors? I I think people might be surprised to to to see that as part of the solution here. Yes, because at the end of the day, a health issue is, this is a health issue, whether you’re young or old. We are fundamentally talking about a health issue. That being said, when I talk about a fulsome approach, part of this too is making sure that we’re preventing addiction in the very first place, right? So that applies to kids as well. So the idea is to make sure that we’re covering the full spectrum of all the potential interventions, from policy and prevention to harm reduction and treatment. And yes, where needed, it will include enforcement. But whether you’re young or old, at the end of the day, addiction is a health issue and we should focus on it as such, while at the same time making sure that we’re preventing it as much as possible and creating the conditions for a thriving and healthy community with public spaces that everybody can enjoy. Doctor Davila, thank you for explaining Toronto’s position and your position. Appreciate it very much. Thank you.