Nova Scotia is virtually heroin free.
This is according to an analysis of data obtained from Statistics Canada.
From 2010 to 2014, the years with the most recent available data, there were only a total of seven arrests made for heroin possession in the entire province.
In comparison, total arrests made for the possession of heroin in Canada during that period was 3955. Nova Scotia sits at just .2 per cent of all arrests with a total population of just under three per cent. In other words, Nova Scotia’s numbers are way below the national average
Diane Bailey, self-admitted ex-junkie and director of Mainline Needle Exchange in Halifax, said heroin was never been a big issue in Halifax and Nova Scotia. “There was little pockets of heroin in the seventies and eighties, but it’s not prominent here,” said Bailey. “This has always been a pill city.” She said one reason why heroin may never have taken off in Nova Scotia is because of the rural nature of the province. It’s true – high population cities like Vancouver and Toronto have some of the highest rates of heroin arrests per capita.
Donald MacPherson, director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition in Vancouver, also believes that regional drug cultures can affect which drugs people use.
In fact, Macpherson’s own province, British Columbia, has the worst heroine possession arrest numbers in all of Canada by a long shot. On average, a person in BC is almost 7.5 more likely to be arrested for heroin possession than all of the other provinces
There are more arrests in British Columbia for heroin possession than all of the other provinces combined. “Part of it is just historical,” said MacPherson. “We are a port of entry, and heroin traditionally was coming from South East Asia.” But while arrests for possession of heroin in British Colombia have continued to climb, arrests for importing and exporting the drug have gone down. In 2014, only five arrests were made for importation and exportation of heroin in BC. That’s down from 13 in 2010.
Canada fighting back
Canada’s war on heroin is getting worse.
Both MacPherson and Bailey expressed concern over the rise of synthetic street opioids such as fentanyl, which is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 40 times more potent than heroin.
The new drug is being blamed for hundreds of overdoses nation-wide by health officials across Canada.
The Canadian federal government has caught on, and it has started to crack down on prescription drugs that could potentially get into the hands of users.
But heavier regulation may come with a drawback.
“With the federal government putting such restrictions on drugs (opioid painkillers), and the amounts that people can have, I’m fearful that heroin would appear here, even in the east,” said Bailey.
In other words, if the government starts regulating pills, people may hop back on the heroin bandwagon.
“Drug use isn’t going to go away,” said Bailey.
MacPherson and the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition echoed that statement, suggesting Canada should take a more humanitarian approach to its heroin problem.
“We’re against the criminalization of these drugs,” said MacPherson, “and we don’t see the real upside in criminalizing the people that use them.
“In order to move to a comprehensive health and human rights approach, you need to remove the criminal law and implement health and social programs to people that need them”