By Jill Sperling

Kamloops mother joins rally to decriminalize illicit drugs

Jun 24, 2018 | 12:28 PM

KAMLOOPS — A Kamloops woman who lost her son to an accidental overdose over two years ago joined other mothers in Victoria this weekend to call for a shift in Canadian drug policy. 

Sandra Tully’s son Ryan Pinneo died of a fentanyl overdose in January 2016.

On Saturday she and other members of Moms Stop the Harm held a rally on the grounds of the legislature. 

“The (opioid) crisis has been going on for two years, and we’re no further ahead than we were when they declared a public health emergency in B.C. in the spring of 2016. We are losing more people actually. So, we need to take some drastic steps in order to curb the losses that we’re having. We see decriminalization as the answer.”

Tully says around 200 people attended the rally.

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She says she believes decriminalization will happen, and the legalization of recreational marijuana was an easy first step. 

“People are always going to use drugs. That has been going on for decades, centuries,” Tully said. “So, why are we making them illegal and introducing a toxic drug supply when we could have them legal just as we do with alcohol?”