CALGARY, AB: Monday, the Calgary Police Service (CPS) laid charges for the first time under United Conservative MLA Mike Ellis’ Bill 205, the Pharmacy and Drug (Pharmaceutical Equipment Control) Amendment Act, 2016, which made Alberta the first province in Canada to ban the possession of pill press machines.
This common-sense legislation put Alberta at the forefront in the fight against illicit opioids, and, as a result, has taken two illegal pill presses and over one thousand fentanyl pills off the streets.
“I am incredibly proud to see UCP MLA Mike Ellis’ ground-breaking legislation yield tangible results for Albertans,” said UCP Leader Jason Kenney. “As a former CPS officer, Mike knows that common-sense solutions are often the most effective, and today’s charges prove that. The NDP government’s lack of significant action on Alberta’s opioid epidemic continues to make a bad situation much worse.”
From April to June, 119 Albertans lost their lives to fentanyl-related overdoses, which is up from 85 during the same period in 2016. The NDP’s ideological approach to date has been heavily focused on harm reduction for addicts, at the expense of strategies that could keep these deadly drugs off our streets in the first place.
“It is great to see Bill 205 doing what it was meant to do, which is keep illicit opioids and the equipment used to manufacture them off Alberta streets,” said Ellis. “In the fight to get the opioid epidemic under control, prevention measures can and should play a central role. This is a simple tool that law enforcement can use to prevent pills laced with fentanyl from being made and sold in Alberta, which will ultimately save lives.”