Ottawa agrees to British Columbia’s request to decriminalize small amounts of drugs

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OTTAWA – The Liberal government will exempt the entire province of British Columbia from federal drug possession laws, allowing users to possess small amounts of cocaine, opioids and methamphetamine without fear of criminal charges.

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Mental Health Minister Carolyn Bennett announced the waiver in Vancouver on Tuesday, but it won’t take effect until Jan. 31, 2023. It will prevent police from filing criminal charges or seizing the drugs of anyone carrying less than 2, 5 grams of cocaine. opioids, methamphetamine and MDMA, or as it is commonly known, ecstasy.

Bennett emphasized that the government was not offering full legalization, but rather taking a harm reduction approach to drug use.

“For too many years, ideological opposition to harm reduction has cost lives,” he said. “Despite best efforts to scale up harm reduction, the crisis has worsened, the supply of increasingly toxic illicit drugs exacerbating the already harrowing loss.”

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For too many years, ideological opposition to harm reduction has cost lives

The exemption will be in effect for three years, but may be extended in the future.

The BC government applied for the waiver last fall in hopes of curbing the rise in drug overdose deaths. It will be subject to a peer-reviewed investigation and may be changed or terminated during its three-year term.

Drug dealing would remain illegal and the exemption would not apply in schools, day care centers or airports. BC had sought an exemption of up to 4.5 grams, but Bennett said the research they conducted showed that 2.5 grams would cover most people currently charged.

The waiver is the first of its kind in Canada, but the city of Toronto has applied for a similar one and the Edmonton City Council is also in the process of applying to the federal government for a waiver.

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Bennett said the BC waiver, which includes a training requirement for police officers and more treatment options for drug users, could be used as a model.

“This successful application will greatly help other jurisdictions to make applications and know what are the criteria that need to be put in place,” he said.

Despite that, Bennett said she is not yet ready to support a private NDP member’s bill calling for nationwide decriminalization, arguing that the bill lacks the necessary safeguards.

“It doesn’t set the barriers around implementation.”

NDP MP Private Member Gord Johns’s bill is due for a vote on Wednesday. In addition to nationwide decriminalization, it would also establish a process to expunge the records of those previously convicted.

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Johns said in a statement that the administration should not offer a partial solution to a national crisis.

“While this announcement is an important step, it will leave Canadians living outside of that province wondering ‘if this is okay for British Columbia, why isn’t it okay for the rest of the country? And why doesn’t the Liberal government move forward with a national solution, he said.

Michael Barrett, the Conservative shadow health minister, said Canada has an obligation to “help people get better” but suggested Ottawa should prioritize other measures.

“Canadians struggling with addiction deserve compassion with access to treatment and a path to recovery and we believe the federal government should prioritize that care by expanding treatment and recovery programs so they can get help.”

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Alberta’s conservative premier also has reservations. Prime Minister Jason Kenney called the decision a “slippery slope” and counterproductive to solving the twin problems of illicit drugs and helping those recovering from addiction.

Kenney said other provinces should have been consulted first, particularly neighboring Alberta.

The move also violates a promise Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made not to take such action, he said.

BC has been ground zero for the opioid epidemic, with more than 2,000 overdose deaths last year, ten times more than a decade ago. Most police forces in the province have stopped arresting people for simple possession, and federal prosecutors have been instructed since 2020 to avoid prosecuting cases.

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Vancouver has many supervised injection sites, and the federal government has offered safe supply programs.

BC Mental Health and Addiction Minister Sheila Malcolmson said decriminalization will help with the stigma of use, which forces many people to use alone when help is not available in case of overdose.

The British Columbia coroner tells us that between five and seven people a day in British Columbia die from toxic drug overdoses

“The British Columbia Coroner tells us that between five and seven people a day in British Columbia die from toxic drug overdoses and that half of these deaths occur inside a private residence, often when people are alone.”

She said the province is constantly adding more treatment beds, but can’t keep up with a drug supply that is heavily contaminated with fentanyl.

“Although we are adding new services in British Columbia on an almost weekly basis, we are not done with the public health emergency. Innovation and determination have been outpaced by increases in the toxicity of illicit drugs,” he said.

Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart said he gets weekly updates on the death toll every Monday and that it is affecting the entire city.

“You can’t find a Vancouverite who hasn’t lost someone and is contained to those lurid statistics,” he said.

Stewart said that the government has to take all possible measures and this is a tool that can help.

“We need to detoxify our drug supply with a regulated uncontaminated supply. We need to build more purpose-built housing with integrated health care supports and approve more supervised consumption sites.”

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