BC will become first province to decriminalize simple possession of illicit drugs

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VANCOUVER — BC will be the first in Canada to decriminalize small amounts of illicit drugs after Health Canada on Tuesday approved the province’s request. However, the decriminalized amount of 2.5 grams is well below the 4.5-gram threshold BC had asked for.

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People 18 years old and older found with a cumulative 2.5 grams or less of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine will not be subject to criminal charges and their drugs will not be seized.

However, police can lay charges if there’s proof the drugs are connected to drug trafficking. People are also prohibited from producing, importing or exporting drugs in any amount.

The changes take effect Jan. 31, 2023 and last until Jan. 31, 2026 at which time the decriminalization measures will be reviewed.

BC’s Mental Health and Addictions Minister Sheila Malcolmson said decriminalization is an important tool to reduce the stigma around drug use that might prevent people from accessing harm reduction services. It’s an acknowledgment that substance use is a public health issue, not a criminal one, she said.

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“Shame and fear keep people from accessing the care that they need and the fear of being criminalized has led many people to hide their addiction and use drugs alone,” Malcolmson said at a press conference in Vancouver. “And using alone can mean dying alone, particularly in this climate of tragically increased illicit drug toxicity.”

Federal Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett said British Columbia has been the epicenter of the overdose crisis for several years now. “Despite the best efforts in increasing harm reduction, the crisis has worsened,” she said.

Bennett approved BC’s November request to exempt the province from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

The City of Vancouver applied to Ottawa separately to decriminalize small amounts of illicit drugs, asking that people be allowed to possess two grams of opioids, three grams of cocaine, one gram of crack cocaine and 1.5 grams of amphetamines. BC’s exemption will also apply to the city.

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“Decriminalizing the simple possession of drugs is a historic brave and groundbreaking first step in the fight to save lives,” said Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart. “It marks a fundamental rethinking of drug policy that favors healthcare over handcuffs.”

Malcolmson had said the request to decriminalize 4.5 grams was based on evidence presented by people who use drugs.

Harm reduction advocacy groups such as Moms Stop the Harm and Canadian Drug Policy Coalition were upset when told by Malcolmson in April that Ottawa was considering the 2.5 gram threshold.

Moms Stop the Harm said on Twitter that the announcement is “too little, too late.”

The group, compromised of people who have lost loved ones to illicit drug toxicity, said “such an unreasonable threshold is just a new way to criminalize people” and will disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous and people of colour. “When will we listen to the people most affected?”

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Bennett acknowledged that the possession threshold is lower than what advocates wanted but said “we’re going to start by starting.”

She said the government has been advised by law enforcement across the country that 85 per cent of the drugs confiscated unrelated to drug trafficking have been under two grams.

The province continues to see a record number of deaths from illicit drug toxicity. The overdose crisis was declared a public health emergency in BC in 2016 and the pandemic exacerbated the situation.

In 2021, 2,224 people died from suspected illicit drug overdoses in BC, the highest death toll recorded in a calendar year.

More than 165 British Columbians died from an illicit drug overdose in March, contributing to a record-setting death toll for the first quarter of 2022.

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The exemption does not apply to people who possess drugs in K-12 schools, licensed child care facilities, in airports, on Coast Guard vessels and helicopters. Members of the Canadian Armed Forces can still be disciplined under the Code of Service Discipline.

For those carrying drugs in a car, public transit or boats, the drugs cannot be readily accessible to the driver or operator.

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