Ottawa announced it would approve the B.C. government’s request to recriminalize the use of illicit drugs in public spaces. The province is now walking back part of its pilot project a little over one year after its implementation.
The pilot program introduced in January 2023 allowed adults to carry up to 2.5 grams of drugs like fentanyl and cocaine for personal use which could also be consumed in public spaces without facing criminal charges.
Health Canada granted B.C. an exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to allow for the use of illicit drugs in public spaces.
However, almost two weeks ago B.C. Premier David Eby asked to have the exemption reversed for public spaces, like hospitals and restaurants after several unsavoury incidents and strong public backlash.
Federal Minister of Addictions and Mental Health Ya’ara Saks told reporters that Eby’s request had been approved and would take effect “immediately” on Tuesday outside the House of Commons.
“We’ve moved forward with B.C. on this with a clear lens on public health and public safety, because we know that we need to address the opioid crisis and the overdose deaths that we’re seeing as a public health issue,” said Saks. “That being said, communities need to be safe.”
Adults will still be permitted to carry small amounts of illicit drugs for personal and private use, but they can now be arrested for using them in public again.
B.C.’s pilot program was in response to the public health emergency declared eight years ago in the wake of an onslaught of deaths due to toxic, illicit drugs, with over 14,000 dying in the province alone since 2016.
At least 42,000 people have died across Canada from opioid overdoses over that same period.
Proponents of the program believed that by allowing people to use drugs in public, it would reverse the stigma associated with opioids and allow for better access to lifesaving care when needed.
However, critics say it was introduced with no guardrails and is a threat to public safety.
Vancouver Police Deputy Chief Fiona Wilson testified at a House of Commons health committee hearing last month about the results of the program thus far, saying that it limits the abilities of police to respond to the issue of public drug use, including incidents inside hospitals and bus stops.
“In the wake of decriminalization, there are many of those locations where we have absolutely no authority to address that problematic drug use, because the person appears to be in possession of less than 2.5 grams,” Wilson told the committee on April 15.
“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 matter.”
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre was removed from Parliament last week for addressing what his party believes to be a failed program, calling the Liberal government’s approach to the opioid crisis “extremist” and “wacko.”
Comments which he refused to withdraw and ultimately had him removed from the House of Commons by the House Speaker.
While the federal government will be walking back the allowance of illicit drugs in public spaces, individual possession of small amounts, under 2.5 grams, will remain legal.
“Decriminalization is about ensuring that people don’t have to face stigma and actually go to get help,” said Saks.
