The Quebec government has quietly relaxed its approach to people caught with small quantities of illegal drugs, following a federal law intended to divert drug users from the criminal justice system.
In April 2023, the province published a guideline recommending that cases of simple drug possession should only be prosecuted when there is a public safety risk. In response, Quebec’s director of prosecutions issued a new directive detailing that drug possession could be a threat to public safety in the context of organized crime, violence or when minors are present.
