Drug decriminalization in city could set example for Canada: advocates

City councillors in Vancouver voted unanimously this week to ask the federal government to decriminalize small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use.

That's a decision advocates hope will blaze a trail in other municipalities.

It's within Health Minister Patty Hajdu's power to grant an exemption to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to allow decriminalization across Canada, said Sandra Ka Hon Chu, the director of research and advocacy for the Toronto-based HIV Legal Network.

“She can issue a very sweeping exemption across the country, and that would be the ideal outcome,” said Ka Hon Chu, who is a lawyer.

But the process may be faster if requests for an exemption to the law are made locally, she said.

The Toronto Board of Health voted last week to repeat an earlier call for decriminalization.

The motion also mentioned that the opioid crisis is worsening during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted the flow of illicit drugs into Canada, resulting in a more toxic supply.

It's also curtailed access to key harm reduction services, such as supervised consumption sites.

“We hear public health officials across the country saying drug decriminalization is really necessary, it's a necessary piece of the puzzle, but that's not happening,” said Ka Hon Chu.

The vote in Vancouver came after the B.C. Coroners Service reported 162 people died from using toxic illicit drugs in the province last month, a 116 per cent increase from October 2019.

City staff will now write to federal officials seeking an exception to the act, which is the same process used to create the city's first sanctioned supervised drug injection site in 2003.

Mayor Kennedy Stewart has said the city will work with police, the local health authority, community groups and people who have experience with drug use to hammer out the plan for decriminalization.

Caitlin Shane, a staff lawyer focused on drug policy for Pivot Legal Society, said she's cautiously optimistic Ottawa will approve Vancouver's application.

B.C. Premier John Horgan, the Vancouver Police Department and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry support the elimination of criminal consequences for possessing small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use.

Led by Vancouver Chief Adam Palmer, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police also endorsed decriminalization earlier this year.

But Shane is concerned about how decriminalization would work in practice.

She and other advocates want the plan to be broad and long lasting.

Shane said she's wary of the role of law enforcement after decriminalization, because police continue to confiscate drugs from her clients in the Downtown Eastside, even if they're not criminally charged.

“That comes with a whole host of other problems, you know, people get their drugs confiscated and then they have to hustle all day to get a new supply and it kind of perpetuates this whole cycle.”

If simple possession is decriminalized, police would have no legal grounds to confiscate the drugs, she said.

There's no indication how long Ottawa might take to review Vancouver's request once it's submitted. Stewart has said Hajdu has the authority to move quickly.