British Columbia decriminalizes illicit drugs
Paramedics from B.C. Ambulance respond to a drug overdose in downtown Vancouver, June 23, 2021. Canada’s government said on May 31, 2022, that it will allow British Columbia to try a three-year experiment in decriminalizing possession of small amounts of drugs, seeking to stem a record number of overdose deaths by easing fear of arrest by users in need of help.
In a first for Canada, British Columbia has joined a handful of regions around the world in decriminalizing small amounts of illicit drugs. The decision, granted by the federal government, comes amid a massive overdose crisis that has only worsened during the pandemic. Also, Italian officials have been circulating a four-point peace plan for Ukraine, calling on Kyiv to give up territory to Russia. The Ukrainian president has criticized the plan as appeasement, while the US has announced it will send Kyiv midrange rockets. How might US support prolong the war? Plus, across the world, men make up the majority of taxi drivers. But the pandemic has led some women in Turkey to take up the work. We hear from one woman who happily traded her desk job for a life behind the wheel.
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