In a thought-provoking opinion piece, journalist Josh Dehaas argues that Canada’s current approach to drug addiction and urban disorder has failed, pointing to Japan as a model for how things could be different. After spending time in Japan’s cities, Dehaas couldn’t help but notice the stark contrast between the clean, orderly streets of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka and the chaos that now plagues Canadian urban centers like Calgary, Toronto, and Vancouver. His core message is clear: Canada doesn’t need to tolerate the urban disorder that has become all too common in its downtowns.
Dehaas’s call for a return to stricter drug laws and enforcement is likely to resonate with many Canadians who are frustrated by the deterioration of their cities and who see Japan’s zero-tolerance approach as a solution worth considering.
A Hard Truth About Canadian Cities
Dehaas doesn’t mince words when describing what he saw in Calgary. He recalls an hour spent walking around downtown where every park bench was occupied by drug addicts, and people were openly using drugs like meth and fentanyl in broad daylight. It’s a scenario that has become all too familiar in cities across Canada, from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside to Toronto’s public spaces. For Dehaas, the problem is not just the presence of addiction—it’s the unwillingness to address it with the seriousness it deserves.
“It’s not just Calgary that looks like this,” Dehaas writes. “Toronto, Edmonton, and Ottawa are equally depressing.” He emphasizes how unsafe and unwelcoming these cities have become, especially in their downtown cores, which should be vibrant and accessible to all. Instead, they’ve been overtaken by open drug use, leaving many law-abiding citizens feeling alienated from their own communities.
The picture Dehaas paints is grim, and it’s one that resonates with Canadians who are tired of seeing their cities slide into disorder. Many agree that something must change.
Japan’s Zero-Tolerance Approach: A Model for Canada?
Dehaas points to Japan as a country that has figured out how to manage drug addiction without sacrificing public order. During his visit to cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, he saw a stark contrast to what he experiences daily in Canadian cities. Japan’s streets were spotless, public spaces were safe, and drug use was almost nonexistent. When Dehaas did see someone under the influence of drugs, police were immediately on the scene, dealing with the situation swiftly and efficiently.
Japan’s approach to drug use is uncompromising. Strict laws against possession, trafficking, and production of hard drugs like methamphetamine and fentanyl are rigorously enforced. First-time offenders face an 18-month suspended sentence, while repeat offenders can receive up to two years in prison. For larger crimes, such as the production or importation of hard drugs, sentences can go up to life imprisonment. These harsh penalties stand in stark contrast to Canada’s decriminalization experiment, which Dehaas argues has led to rampant addiction and the decay of urban life.
According to Dehaas, Japan’s results speak for themselves. The country’s opioid death rate in 2019 was just 2.5 per million people, compared to a staggering 160 deaths per million in Canada in 2021. This stark difference in outcomes leads Dehaas to conclude that Canada’s softer approach to drug possession and addiction is not working. He argues that the time has come to end the experiment with decriminalization and to adopt a tougher stance, one that treats hard drug possession as a crime again.
Compassion Does Not Equal Leniency
Dehaas acknowledges that addicts deserve compassion and treatment. However, he is clear that compassion should not come at the expense of public safety and order. In his view, Canada’s focus on harm reduction, which has been the foundation of its drug policy in recent years, has gone too far. While harm reduction strategies like safe injection sites and decriminalization were intended to save lives, Dehaas believes they’ve had the unintended consequence of enabling drug addiction and making public spaces dangerous for everyone else.
For Dehaas, it’s not enough to view addiction purely as a public health issue. He believes there is also a criminal element that must be addressed. As he puts it, “When a person’s actions cause serious harm to other people, as fentanyl and methamphetamine use inevitably does, those actions ought to be criminalized.” He argues that treating hard drug possession as a crime, rather than just a health issue, would discourage drug use and help reclaim public spaces.
His argument aligns with a growing sentiment among many Canadians who are frustrated with the state of their cities. The permissive approach to drug use, they argue, has only led to more visible addiction, more crime, and more urban decay. Dehaas suggests that if Canada adopts a stricter policy similar to Japan’s, the country could regain control of its downtowns and reduce the harms caused by drug addiction.
The Case for Tougher Laws
Dehaas’s proposed solution is simple: return to enforcing laws against hard drug possession. While decriminalization might have been well-intentioned, it’s clear to him that it has led to the opposite of what was intended. Instead of making cities safer and reducing overdose deaths, it has allowed addiction to flourish in public spaces, with little regard for the safety and comfort of others.
Dehaas points out that Japan has managed to maintain a zero-tolerance policy for drugs while still upholding civil liberties, something Canada could learn from. “I take comfort in the fact that Japan manages to uphold a zero-tolerance policy for drugs while maintaining a high score on civil liberties,” he writes. For Dehaas, this proves that strict drug laws do not have to come at the cost of personal freedom. Rather, they can coexist with a safe, orderly society.
He also believes that stricter enforcement doesn’t have to cost more. In fact, Dehaas argues that imprisoning addicts and drug dealers could actually save money in the long run by reducing the burden on the health care system and public services. “If fewer dealers are on the street, and the consequences of using are scarier, this should eventually lead to fewer addicts sucking up public funds,” he writes.
Is There a Middle Ground?
Dehaas’s opinion offers a stark and controversial view of how Canada should handle its urban disorder and drug addiction crisis. His call for stricter drug enforcement, inspired by Japan’s model, will resonate with those frustrated by the current state of Canadian cities. However, it also raises important questions about how far we should go in criminalizing addiction, and whether such an approach can truly solve the issue or simply hide it.
What do you think? Should Canada adopt a zero-tolerance approach to hard drugs like Japan, or is there another way to address addiction and urban disorder? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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