Canada’s fix for drug deaths starts on road to ‘hell’
Syringes, weapons and slumped bodies on front line of radical policy to redirect addicts away from police
At just past 8am I am standing on East Hastings Street in downtown Vancouver with a small packet of crack cocaine in my hand. Snow is falling gently and dozens, if not hundreds, of drug addicts are already on the move, some treading in the human faeces smeared across the pavement.
Those who have already had their fix slump lifeless against shop fronts or doze in makeshift tents, where many stash guns and knives.
In graffiti-covered alleyways, men in hoodies fill syringes with heroin, force the needles into their arms, and groan as they feed the liquid into their veins.
Women wrapped in blankets – but still shivering in temperatures of -1C – use blow-torch lighters to melt small rocks of crack cocaine before inhaling the fumes through a plastic tube.
Local newspapers describe this street, simply, as “hell”. But the police on patrol simply walk on. As of yesterday, in the eyes of the law, these people are doing nothing wrong.
Thanks to a radical policy introduced by British Columbia, adults in possession of 2.5g of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine or ecstasy, for personal use, will not be arrested or have their drugs seized.
More than 11,000 British Columbians have died from drug overdoses since a public health emergency was declared in 2016. That’s five people a day for six years in this province of just five million people. It is time for “a monumental shift in drug policy”, Carolyn Bennett, Canada’s addictions minister, said on Monday. The ultimate goal “is to save lives”, she added.
Her provincial counterpart, Sheila Malcolmson insisted: “Substance use is a public health issue, not a criminal one. By decriminalising people who use drugs, we will break down the stigma that stops people from accessing life-saving support and services.”
The new role of the police in this part of western Canada is “to redirect people who possess small amounts of certain illegal drugs away from the criminal justice system and towards health and social services” said Staff Sgt Kris Clark.
In preparation, British Columbia’s 2021 budget pledged $500million (£304million) for mental health and substance abuse services. Of this, $152million is earmarked for the treatment of opioid users, $133million for treatment and recovery services and $45million for overdose prevention.
This experiment, which has the backing of Justin Trudeau, the prime minister, will last three years.
The Liberal Party leader has said that a similar scheme could be rolled out in other major cities.
“Every step of the way we need to make sure we are following science and data and that’s what we’re doing. You don’t want to do it without the system and support in place. Of course we’ve heard of cities like Toronto and Edmonton wanting to take this on, and we’re going to work with them every step of the way as, or if, we move forward.”
The scheme has not come without criticism and accusations of double standards. This month, for instance, Canada updated its health guidance to recommend no more than two alcoholic drinks a week. By 2026, any food high in fat, sugar or salt must have a warning label on the packaging.
James Harry, a former drug addict turned-out reach worker, is baffled by the reform: “We’re giving people the freedom to walk around with that poison in their pockets. It just doesn’t make sense to me.”
Jason Kenney, who recently stepped down as premier of the neighbouring province of Alberta, said: “This action will likely result in a dramatic increase in drug use, violence, trafficking and addiction – something that health systems are already overburdened with.”
Pierre Poilievre, Canada’s Conservative Party leader this week attacked Mr Trudeau’s record saying “after eight years you have given in to Canadian cities that are turning into crime zones”.
Young people previously wary of taking drugs might now be more inclined to experiment, some health
‘What hope do we have anyway? Look at this place...’
experts fear. The move also does nothing to tackle the toxicity of the drugs already on the streets. Fentanyl – the synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin – was involved in 87 per cent of overdose deaths in 2021. Sometimes it was cut into other drugs without the user knowing.
British Columbia already offers fentanyl on prescription but campaigners want this “safe supply” to be expanded to other substances.
Jerry Martin, whose brother died from an overdose last year, announced plans to open up his own store in the area, so he can sell clean drugs to users. It was not immediately clear if he had done so yesterday, or if he had been deterred by threats from authorities. “Mr Martin’s project is not within the scope of decriminalisation,” British Columbia’s ministry of health said. “The selling (or trafficking) of controlled substances remains illegal.”
Andy Bhatti, a leading drug addiction interventionist, says the idea for the shop is dangerous.
“He is promoting addiction and trafficking. There is absolutely no way he will be able to stay open. If so, every other gangster or organised crime group would open up shop as well.
“If we allow stores to sell cocaine, it will be the dumbest thing in the world.” Back on East Hastings Street, there is shouting as two men squabble over a lighter. One of them reaches into his waistband and pulls out a knife as people scatter.
I hand the bag of crack back to its owner – Nicole, an addict in her 40s, who fell into drugs, alcohol and depression as a teenager.
Pouring the contents on to a piece of foil and warming it with a lighter, she sighs. “What hope do we really have anyway? Look at this place,” she says.
After a long drag, she splutters: “So the police won’t arrest us now?
“I guess they’ll just be here to help with the bodies.”