Dr. Henry Slams Drug Decriminalization Rollback

0:00British Columbia's Top Doc, Dr. Bonnie Henry, just called out the rollback of the province's drug decriminalization trial as straight up. Disappointing, blaming political pressure for killing it early. This comes right on the 10th anniversary of the toxic drug emergency declaration, which has claimed over 18,000 lives since April 9, 2016. The trial let folks carry small amounts of certain hard drugs for personal use without criminal charges, aiming to cut stigma and boost health-focused. Help. Henry says she heard federal and provincial leaders drop some real stigmatizing talk about users, undoing years of progress and ditching the shame game. Around addiction. Henry admitted she was gutted when the province skipped asking Ottawa for an extension on the federal exemption, though she gets why they pump the brakes. She stressed decriminalization was never going to fix everything solo, but it turned into a lightning rod that sparked more harm than good. Health Minister Josie Osborne, laid it out back in January. The three-year pilot didn't hit the marks they wanted, so no renewal.

1:03Osborne reminded everyone it was always meant to be temporary, part of testing waters in an endless fight against overdoses. As BC keeps battling this crisis, Henry's words remind us, policy shifts hit hard on the ground, pushing for smarter, less politicized paths forward. Stay informed with Calgary News Today, AI, Powered Updates. I'm Cory with The Story.