British Columbia to recriminalize use of drugs in public spaces

After weeks of troubling stories about problematic street drug use in hospi‐ tals, parks and at bus stops, the province of British Columbia an‐ nounced plans to recrimi‐ nalize the use of drugs in public places Friday - radi‐ cally altering a pilot pro‐ gram aimed at addressing the toxic drug crisis.

In a statement, Premier David Eby insisted that his government is "caring and compassionate for those struggling with addiction," but that patience for disorder only goes so far.

"Keeping people safe is our highest priority," said Eby.

"We're taking action to make sure police have the tools they need to ensure safe and comfortable com‐ munities for everyone as we expand treatment options so people can stay alive and get better," he said.

With an election looming, Eby's NDP government has been bombarded with a string of headlines about concerns with decriminaliza‐ tion - a pilot program intro‐ duced in January 2023 al‐ lowed adult drug users in B.C. to carry up to 2.5 grams of drugs for personal use without facing criminal charges.

The program was possible through an exemption granted by Health Canada under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act which al‐ lowed for open drug use in some public spaces.

Eby's political opponents have seized on concerns from hospital workers and patients about illegal drug use and trafficking in the hallways of hospitals.

And last week, Vancouver Police Deputy Chief Fiona Wilson testified at a House of Commons health committee hearing about the struggles police are having responding to public complaints involv‐ ing disturbances related to public drug consumption.

WATCH | B.C. govern‐ ment backtracks on drug use in public spaces over safety concerns:

In a release, the province says it is "working with Health Canada to urgently change the decriminalization policy to stop drug use in public and has requested an amendment to its … exemp‐ tion to exclude all public places."

"When police are called to a scene where illegal and dangerous drug use is taking place, they will have the abil‐ ity to compel the person to leave the area, seize the drugs when necessary or ar‐ rest the person, if required," the province said in a state‐ ment.

"This change would not recriminalize drug posses‐ sion in a private residence or place where someone is legally sheltering or at over‐ dose prevention sites and drug checking locations."

B.C. Health Minister Adri‐ an Dix said the province is al‐ so introducing specific mea‐ sures aimed at curbing illicit drug use in health care facili‐ ties - including the prohibi‐ tion of street drug posses‐ sion or use.

"We are taking immediate action to make hospitals safer and ensuring policies are consistent and strictly en‐ forced through additional se‐ curity, public communication and staff supports," Dix said in a statement.

"The action plan launch‐ ing today will improve how patients with addictions are supported while they need hospital care, while pre‐ venting others from being ex‐ posed to the secondhand ef‐ fects of illicit drug use."

The province said it is working with police to come up with guidance to ensure that people who merely pos‐ sess drugs are not arrested unless they're threatening public safety or causing a dis‐ turbance.

Vancouver Police Deputy Chief Fiona Wilson said at the announcement that decrimi‐ nalization has to be part of a broader strategy to address the province's drug crisis.

"We've heard loud and clear from the front-line police officers who continue to see the unintended ramifi‐ cations that unchecked pub‐ lic drug use has on the safety and well-being of neighbour‐ hoods," she said.

"And the feedback has been unequivocal - public consumption is a significant issue that needs to be ad‐ dressed and major changes are required."

LISTEN | Political panel discusses the pushback against safe supply pilot:

14,000 lives lost

The decriminalization pi‐ lot was introduced in January 2023 and allows adult drug users in B.C. to carry up to 2.5 grams of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and ec‐ stasy for personal use with‐ out facing criminal charges.

Relying on an exemption granted by Health Canada under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, it also al‐ lows for open drug use in some public spaces.

The pilot is part of a gov‐ ernment response to the public health emergency de‐ clared eight years ago due to a rise in deaths from toxic, il‐ licit drugs.

More than 14,000 people have died since the emer‐ gency was declared in 2016, largely due to the opioid fen‐ tanyl.

By reducing stigma associ‐ ated with drug use, officials say they hope to provide bet‐ ter access to lifesaving care along with a less deadly safe supply.

But it has come with criti‐ cism about a lack of guardrails.

On April 15, Vancouver Police Deputy Chief Fiona Wilson testified at a House of Commons health committee hearing about how the pilot is limiting police response to problematic public drug use, including inside hospitals and at bus stops.

WATCH | B.C. Premier says compassion for drug users must be balanced against public safety

"In the wake of decrimi‐ nalization, there are many of those locations where we have absolutely no authority to address that problematic drug use, because the per‐ son appears to be in posses‐ sion of less than 2.5 grams," Wilson said.

"So, if you have someone who is with their family at the beach, and there's a person next to them smoking crack cocaine, it's not a police mat‐ ter."

Courts previously stopped legislation

Friday's announcement is the government's latest attempt at curbing public drug use.

Last October, it tabled new legislation in an attempt to ban illegal drug use in many public places.

The bill would have ban‐ ned the use of illicit drugs within six metres of all build‐ ing entrances and bus stops; within 15 metres of play‐ grounds, spray and wading pools, and skate parks; and in parks, beaches and sports fields.

But in December, B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson ordered the law paused until March 31, ruling it would likely re‐ sult in more deaths, displace‐ ment and criminalization of people who use drugs.

"Irreparable harm will be caused if the act comes into force," Hinkson wrote in his ruling.

The provincial govern‐ ment appealed the ruling, but it was upheld by the B.C. Court of Appeal.

WATCH | The debate over decriminalization in B.C.:

Eby says he expects the changes to go through this time because he is asking them to come from Health Canada.

"The resolution of that court issue is potentially more than a year down the road and we cannot afford to wait. We need to act now," Eby said.

"I have talked to the prime minister about this. He as‐ sures me that the federal government will provide full support to ensure that police have the tools that they need."

Eby said it's possible the government could face an‐ other legal challenge in re‐ sponse to these changes, but he thinks the risk is low.

"In order for it to be suc‐ cessful, the court would have to find that the entire Con‐ trolled Drugs and Substances Act at the federal level was unconstitutional," he said.

Eby said criminalizing drug use costs lives and tax‐ payer money while not mak‐ ing the public safer, but "police do need the tools to address extraordinary cir‐ cumstances where people are compromising public safety through their drug use."

Election looms

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said in a statement that he welcomed the change.

"Today's changes will make public drug use effec‐ tively illegal and provide the VPD with actual tools to maintain public safety. This change aligns with the critical work we have already under‐ taken with the federal and provincial governments to address open drug use in public areas, especially around playgrounds, splash pads, beaches, and sports fields."

The premier said the issue has been intensely politicized as the province heads into an election.

British Columbians go to the polls on Oct. 19.

Opposition B.C. United Leader Kevin Falcon and his critic for mental health and addiction Elenore Sturko is‐ sued a joint statement calling the government's move a "desperate attempt to sal‐ vage a failing policy."

"Instead of upholding their commitments to scrap the decriminalization pilot when it clearly wasn't meet‐ ing its goals, David Eby and the NDP have stubbornly persisted with this dangerous policy," the statement says.

"From its inception, the decriminalization experiment has failed to connect drug users with any necessary treatment or recovery ser‐ vices."

B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad said in an inter‐ view that "decriminalization has been an utter failure in this province."

"This should have never happened in the province of British Columbia," he said.

In a statement posted on‐ line, B.C. Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau expressed concerns about the increase in arrests that could be asso‐ ciated with the policy, writing, "Police discretion is especially likely to stigmatize Indige‐ nous and racialized British Columbians."

"This issue is intrinsically linked to the housing and af‐ fordability crisis. Rolling back decriminalization isn't going to fix that. No jurisdiction in the world has arrested their way out of this problem, and we won't either."

WATCH | Full press con‐ ference on drug recriminal‐ ization: