Brieanna Charlebois, Canadian Press
Published Sunday, April 28, 2024 7:14 pmEDT
Advocates for drug users are raising concerns about British Columbia’s request for Health Canada to authorize police to intervene when they see illicit drug use in public spaces, saying it may be a step backwards in the fight against drug abuse. deadly opioid crisis.
Brittany Graham, executive director of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, said that while she hasn’t seen the details, the proposed change currently only appears to affect those who are homeless and living in poverty.
“They will be recriminalized in every sense of the word and it is very disappointing, in the midst of this overdose crisis in which 14,000 people have died, that our current government is blaming our biggest problems on homelessness, poverty and welfare.” . state about individual people who have nowhere to go,” he said in a telephone interview.
Graham said the consequences of the proposed change shed light on other issues the government should focus more on addressing.
“People can’t afford housing anymore,” he said. “This is a housing issue, not a decriminalization issue.”
The three-year decriminalization pilot project was enacted on January 31, 2023, exempting those in possession of small amounts of opioids from facing criminal charges. Exemptions apply to drugs such as heroin and fentanyl, as well as cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA, in quantities of 2.5 grams or less.
The province said Friday it was working with Health Canada to “urgently change decriminalization policy to stop public drug use.”
BC’s request comes after repeated criticism from politicians, health workers and police over the policy, including open drug use in public spaces.
The province previously attempted to make drug use in public places illegal with its own legislation, but the Harm Reduction Nurses Association challenged the bill in court.
Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson ruled in December that if the laws were enacted, “irreparable harm would be caused.”
Premier David Eby said the province has now requested the changes come from Health Canada requesting an amendment to its exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The requested change would give police the power to intervene when they see illicit drug use in public spaces, including inside hospitals, on public transportation and in parks.
Corey Ranger, president of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association, called the move “extremely unethical.”
“We are very concerned and sincerely believe this is an improper circumvention of the British Columbia Supreme Court order,” he said in an interview. “BC has not acted with transparency or consulted with the people who will be most affected by this issue.”
The association issued a news release earlier this month saying it had contacted the provincial government “to discuss legal and policy changes.”
“The association calls on the province to make productive efforts rather than continue defending a law that puts lives at risk,” the April 16 news release about the legislation said.
Ranger said Friday’s announcement came as a surprise, noting the province did not provide a formal response to the association’s request.
“It appears that their response was the announcement that they were going to seek an amendment to their exemption for the decriminalization pilot,” he said.
Ranger said he believes the request was an attempt to “score political points” ahead of the provincial election scheduled for the fall.
“We should be working to find solutions like housing and mental health support, and instead they retreated to the only thing they know, which is punishment,” he said.
Ranger said the association cannot yet determine what the next steps will be because members have not yet seen the province’s application.
The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the criticism.
Eby said during a news conference Friday that police need tools to address extraordinary circumstances when people compromise public safety through drug use. She said police will be guided to arrest people only for simple possession in “exceptional circumstances.”
Guy Felicella, a Vancouver-based harm reduction expert, said he agrees there should be some rules about public consumption in places like playgrounds, but he still has many questions about what the exemption would mean, specifically what regarding police discretion.
“That’s the part that worries me and that’s what I need clarity on,” he said.
As someone who struggled with addiction for decades and faced more than 50 drug-related convictions, he said he believes recriminalization won’t work.
“When you get caught up in this, it’s very, very, very difficult to break free from it,” he said of the justice system.
“It’s just a revolving door of rinse, wash and repeat for decades, and I can tell you, looking back, it was probably the hardest thing I was ever able to free myself from.”
He attributes his recovery largely to harm reduction services.
“Without harm reduction, I would not be alive today, my children would not be alive today and I would not have more than 11 years sober at my job. My recovery gives me the life I have today,” Felicella said. “But it was all based on a continuum of care from harm reduction to recovery services.”
He said he’s grateful the province supports supervised consumption and other harm reduction methods, but maintains there needs to be greater acceptance by municipalities across the province.
“We have to give them a place to go,” he said of drug users.