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British Columbia Re-Criminalizes Open Drug Use After Public Backlash
A landmark experiment in Canadian drug policy is ending early, after the Province of British Columbia announced Friday that it was scaling back its landmark decriminalization effort. The decision was taken in the face of widespread discontent with public drug use and disorder in cities across the province, and comes amid a wave of pushback against similar laws in jurisdictions across North America.
The law, which took effect in January of last year, gave British Columbia an exemption from Federal drug laws for a three-year trial period. It eliminated all penalties for possessing or using a wide variety of narcotics, including methamphetamines, heroin, and fentanyl. The law was viewed as a test case for the viability of decriminalization in Canada, closely watched from Ottawa and other provincial capitals.
But the experiment is will soon be over, as the Province announced it was working with the Federal government to reduce the scope of its exemptions. The new measure does not strictly criminalize drug use, which the provincial government will continue to permit within private residences or designated consumption sites. However, it reintroduces criminal penalties for public use and possession, with accompanying police enforcement. In his official statement, BC premier David Eby stated, “While we are caring and compassionate for those struggling with addiction, we do not accept street disorder that makes communities feel unsafe.”
The Province was forced to request Federal intervention after courts blocked provincial attempts to modify the decriminalization plan. In December, the Supreme Court of British Columbia blocked a law restricting drug use in public spaces, such as parks, public transit, and workplaces. The court sided with a coalition of drug users and advocates who argued that limiting drug use to certain locations would cause “irreparable harm” to users by isolating them from their communities.
British Columbia has long been at the center of Canada’s addiction crisis, with thousands dying annually of drug overdoses. Proponents argued that a radical new strategy was needed to address the issue, after enforcement tactics failed to halt an ever-increasing death toll. Founded on “harm reduction” principles, decriminalization aimed to limit done by damage problematic drug use, instead of forcing users to quit.
The government’s actions mark a stark reversal from a previous trend towards more liberal drug policies. At the time of its passing, the law was hailed by advocates, who argued that reducing stigma around drug use would decrease overdoses and make users more likely to seek treatment. When announcing the exemption, Federal mental health and addictions minister Carolyn Bennett said that she hoped the law would be a template for other jurisdictions in Canada.
However, just over a year later, decriminalization has failed to deliver the promised results, and public anger has overwhelmed early excitement. Overdose deaths in British Columbia reached a record high of 2,511 in 2023. Meanwhile, overdose calls, which actually decreased in 2022 for the first time in six years, surged 25% in 2023. (Proponents argue that the increase in calls is a sign the law is working, and that the increase in deaths is due to a surge in fentanyl use.)
BC’s partial repeal is the latest setback for advocates of progressive drug policies, who achieved a political high-water mark across the US and Canada during the Pandemic. Multiple high-profile policy victories have turned into high-profile defeats, as jurisdictions that liberalized their drug laws scramble to reversed course in the fact of voter dissatisfaction. In Oregon, a first-of-its-kind decriminalization law that passed with overwhelming voter approval in 2020 was repealed at the beginning of this month with little dissent. And in San Francisco, over 60% of voters approved a new law requiring mandatory drug screening for welfare recipients. |
Royal Canadian Legion, US Branch #25 