Saskatchewan’s newest anti-drug regulation, The Response to the Illicit Drugs Act, went into effect Monday and allows the province or affected people to sue drug traffickers for damages.
A successful lawsuit will allow the province, and any other plaintiffs, to recover lost funds as payment for drug-related harms they endured, according to the Saskatchewan government.
Drug-related harms can include problematic substance use, addiction, general drug-related health declines or death, according to the Act representing Response and Remedies for Illicit Drug-Related Wrongs.
In a news release, the government said the act aims to hold drug traffickers accountable while lowering the drug trade’s profit margins.
“It is a tort for a person to commit an illicit drug-related wrong that results in an illicit drug-related disease, injury or illness to an individual,” the act says. A tort occurs when a judgment is in favour of the plaintiff, or the party who brought the court case in front of a judge.
The courts can “award damages to the plaintiff, including general, special, aggravated and punitive damages” so long as they are related to the same incident as the suit, the act says.
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The exact amount will be relative to the costs associated with each specific incident.
A single payout can also be collected if the government applies on behalf of a group of people who were harmed due to the drug trade, according to the act.
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The government of Saskatchewan also reserves the right to apply to a civil court for the cancellation of, and reimbursement for, any agreements, applications, or grants provided to traffickers who were acting illegally while the contracts were in effect.
Courts can also consider the degree of toxicity of the drugs, the length of time the drugs were sold, and how intricate the operation was in determining the ruling and payout.
@roger – what, exactly, does your comment have to do with the illegal drug trade??
You’re a Grade A idiot-box, probably a seppie.
ridiculous if not absurd cigarettes and booze have been putting people in hospitals and graves and yet no laws against those culprits …