Canada province decriminalizes hard drugs in bid to ease opioid crisis

Key Facts

World January 31, 2023 / 9:45 AM / AFP Arizona drug raid finds chemicals to make fentanyl Law enforcement raid finds chemicals to make fentanyl in Arizona home 03:06 Ottawa — A Canadian province on Tuesday decriminalized the possession of small amounts of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and other hard drugs in a radical policy shift to address an opioid overdose crisis that has killed thousands.
Fatal fentanyl overdoses on the rise in the U.S. 09:59 British Columbia is the epicenter of a crisis that has seen more than 10,000 overdose deaths since it declared a public health emergency in 2016.
Kathryn Botchford, whose husband Jason died of a drug overdose in 2019, said she had no idea he'd even been using drugs.
Eric sits on his skateboard as he visits the cross that commemorates his girlfriend Jada - one of 243 crosses that cover a lot as part of the Crosses for Change project memorializing victims of the opioid overdose crisis in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, May 9, 2022.