Vancouver ends its war on drugs

The authorities say that from now on, they will treat addiction as a ‘‘health matter, not a criminal justice one’’.

As a bitter wind gusted down East Hastings Street, an addict wearing shorts despite the snow was selling his Liverpool FC shirt. ‘‘I’m sick, man, I need money,’’ he said, asking for C$20 (NZ$23) as he eyed his next fix.

Not far away on Vancouver’s East Side, there was a free-for-all of drug use taking place, users huddled in small groups as they freely abused heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine. None of them, however, was breaking a single law.

British Columbia yesterday introduced a measure that decriminalises possession of hard drugs in the Canadian province.

Instead, police officers will hand out cards with information on how users can access help. The three-year experiment, which supporters have hailed as a ‘‘monumental shift’’ in drug policy, but critics claimed would lead to lawlessness, allows users aged 18 and over to carry up to 2.5 grams of narcotics. The authorities say that from now on, they will treat addiction as a ‘‘health matter, not a criminal justice one’’.

On East Hastings Street, where the lampposts are plastered with home-made missing persons signs from families searching for news of loved ones lost to addiction, it is hoped that the measures will prevent overdose deaths.

Officials in British Columbia, a progressive stronghold, say bold action is needed to combat the province’s overdose crisis, with at least 11,000 having died there since a public health emergency was declared in 2016. In the first six months of last year fentanyl, the deadly synthetic opioid 50 times stronger than heroin, was linked to 83% of the more than 1000 overdose deaths.

Critics, however, argue that decriminalisation must be coupled with serious attempts to push addicts into treatment in order to be effective.

Mike Goetz, the mayor of Merritt, a city in British Columbia, has sought legal advice on introducing bylaws to restrict where users can take drugs.

‘‘If these drugs are being used in public places and we have somebody that’s working in a restaurant and they go to change a bag of garbage, and there’s a huge needle in it, or if there’s unfinished fentanyl and cocaine powder on the table, and a child gets it on their hand . . . these things really concern me,’’ he said. ‘‘This could become a situation where other people who have nothing to do with this could be harmed.’’

Goetz, who lost a son-in-law to a drug overdose, said the new laws fail to offer addicts a way into treatment. ‘‘A plan for recovery is missing.’’

Supporters of decriminalisation say the war on drugs has been an undeniable failure and point to the approximately 23,000 people who died because of opioids in Canada between 2016 and 2021 as proof. South of the border, more than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021 alone, largely because of fentanyl, and cities across the US exploring radical solutions will be watching events in Vancouver closely.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has previously said decriminalisation is not a ‘‘silver bullet’’. Pierre Poilievre, leader of the opposition Conservative party, has said liberal policies on drugs are ‘‘failed experiments’’.

Officials in British Columbia say it is time to remove the ‘‘shame and stigma’’ from addiction.

Jennifer Whiteside, the province’s minister of mental health and addictions, said in a statement: ‘‘We know that drug use is a public health matter – not a criminal justice one.’’ –