CTV: “the right tool may be legalization with regulation.”

CTV Kitchener – March 4, 2022: A Brantford man faces charges after an international operation that the RCMP say took 1.5 tonnes of cocaine – valued at nearly $200 million – off the streets.

The drugs, hidden inside the cargo of a marine container, were seized by border services officers in Saint John, N.B. in early January.

In a media release the RCMP said the “major” bust represents the largest amount of cocaine seized from a marine shipping container in Atlantic Canada in three decades. […]

Click here to read more and watch this story in the original article on CTV News. […]

IMPACT ON LOCAL STREETS

Michael Parkinson with the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council says, “while opioids are the most predominant substance, most overdose fatalities are the result of multiple drugs and that includes cocaine or crystal methamphetamine.”

Parkinson said there isn’t a lot of data available in regards to how much cocaine is used in southern Ontario.

“Because certain drugs are criminalized it’s hard to get a sense of how many people are using what kind of unregulated drugs.”

However, data shows cocaine is present on the streets and does contribute to deaths.

“We know that many people within Waterloo Region and Ontario do use cocaine and sometimes that is reflected in overdose fatality data.”

Parkinson said that while the large seizure of cocaine in Atlantic Canada is a great thing, it’s essentially only a small blip on the radar in comparison to the size of the illegal drug market.

In terms of positively impacting the supply of currently illegal drugs Parkinson said, “the right tool may be legalization with regulation.”