{"id":21657,"date":"2022-08-31T08:34:06","date_gmt":"2022-08-31T12:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/?p=21657"},"modified":"2022-09-25T21:21:05","modified_gmt":"2022-09-26T01:21:05","slug":"media-statement-a-renewed-call-for-drug-decriminalization-on-international-overdose-awareness-day-ioad-2022","status":"publish","type":"news22","link":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/media-statement-a-renewed-call-for-drug-decriminalization-on-international-overdose-awareness-day-ioad-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"MEDIA STATEMENT: A RENEWED CALL FOR DRUG DECRIMINALIZATION ON INTERNATIONAL OVERDOSE AWARENESS DAY (IOAD) 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

A RENEWED CALL FOR DRUG DECRIMINALIZATION ON INTERNATIONAL OVERDOSE AWARENESS DAY (IOAD) 2022 <\/span><\/b><\/span><\/h1>\n

For immediate release<\/em><\/p>\n

August 31st, 2022 \u2014 Toronto \u2014<\/span><\/b> On International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD), <\/b>the HIV Legal Network remembers the lives of our friends, family, and community members who have been taken too soon due to the drug poisoning crisis. We acknowledge the grief felt by those honouring their loved ones who have died or have been permanently injured because of an increasingly toxic drug supply. <\/span><\/p>\n

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada has seen a marked rise in drug poisoning deaths with a 96% increase between 2020 and 2021, and deaths continue to remain high. Now, more than ever, the need for urgent drug policy change and greater public awareness is clear. <\/span><\/p>\n

The HIV Legal Network is asking all levels of government to put health and human rights first by implementing progressive and comprehensive drug laws and policies, ending the criminalization and stigmatization of drug use, and expanding and scaling up harm reduction programs and measures, such as needle and syringe programs, safe injection and safe inhalation sites, and safe supply programs, including in prison. <\/span><\/p>\n

As <\/span>\u201cDecriminalization Done Right: A Rights-Based Path for Drug Policy<\/a><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/u> \u2014 a civil society platform on drug decriminalization \u2014 states, \u201cPunitive drug laws and policies purported to deter drug use have failed \u2014 and worse, they have done catastrophic harm. They have fueled deadly stigma; epidemics of preventable illness and death; poverty; homelessness; and widespread, systematic, and egregious violations of human rights.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As a contributor to the platform, we are asking for the full decriminalization of all drug possession for personal use, as well as the sharing or selling of drugs for subsistence, to support personal drug use costs, or to provide a safe supply. <\/span><\/p>\n

Evidence clearly shows that a bold policy shift away from criminalization is desperately needed as people continue to die from the toxic drug supply at unprecedented rates.<\/span> <\/span>Drug prohibition also harms Indigenous, Black, and other racialized, marginalized, and low-income communities, who are profiled and disproportionately arrested and incarcerated for drug offences, as well as facing higher instances of child apprehension orders. Criminalization must end as a tool to combat these further inequities. It\u2019s time to act. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 30 \u2014<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

CONTACT:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Sandra Ka Hon Chu, Co-Executive Director<\/span><\/p>\n

HIV Legal Network<\/span><\/p>\n

schu@hivlegalnetwork.ca<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

ABOUT THE HIV LEGAL NETWORK<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

The HIV Legal Network promotes the human rights of people living with HIV or AIDS and other populations disproportionately affected by HIV, punitive laws and policies, and criminalization, in Canada and internationally. We do this through research and analysis, litigation and other advocacy, public education, and community mobilization.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A RENEWED CALL FOR DRUG DECRIMINALIZATION ON INTERNATIONAL OVERDOSE AWARENESS DAY (IOAD) 2022 For immediate release August 31st, 2022 \u2014 Toronto \u2014 On International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD), the HIV Legal Network remembers the lives of our friends, family, and community members who have been taken too soon due to the drug poisoning crisis. We … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"publication_topics":[147],"publication_language":[184,185],"class_list":["post-21657","news22","type-news22","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","publication_topics-drug-policy","publication_language-english","publication_language-french"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news22\/21657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news22"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news22"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news22\/21657\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21658,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news22\/21657\/revisions\/21658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"publication_topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication_topics?post=21657"},{"taxonomy":"publication_language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication_language?post=21657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}