By: Nolan Steuart, SFU Student
If you truly care about the betterment of society and saving lives, then you’ll agree BC’s adjustment to their previous drug decriminalization program was a step backward. In May 2024, the provincial government made changes to the drug decriminalization pilot project for the worse. The 2023 program allowed individuals to hold up to 2.5 grams of certain drugs (cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA, and opioids) without risk of being arrested, charged, or having their drugs seized. The latest changes made by the provincial government allow police to ask users to leave spaces that aren’t private residences, seize their drugs, and/or arrest them. The program from early 2023 should be reinstated and expanded with more harm reduction services and further government intervention. Realistically, the most effective solution would be government regulation of these illicit drugs to ensure a safe supply and stop the number of acute toxicity deaths.
Decriminalization’s initial establishment seemed to be the start of a new path forward in tackling the growing number of toxic drug deaths plaguing the province. The program’s goals aligned with reducing stigmatization of drug use and altering public perceptions to understand addiction as a health-based problem rather than a criminal one. Much research points to the fact that the criminalization of drugs and its policing leads to increases in overdoses alongside other social risks. Police presence and drug confiscation have a direct correlation to increase in overdose risk and continue to push stigmatization of drug users, which can result in them using alone and increasing fatal overdose risk.
“BC could expand and increase funding and support for their safe supply program (which currently has around 4,500 people receiving care) and overdose prevention sites which have proven to prevent overdose deaths, stop the spreading of diseases due to needle sharing, and reduce public use of drugs.”
A study performed by researchers at SFU, UBC, and BC Centre for Disease Control looked at how people who use drugs perceived drug decriminalization, their opinions on how the situation was being handled, and other issues within their community. Many study participants were skeptical and saw decriminalization as policy makers doing a “publicity stunt” and ignoring actual concern over the toxic drug supply. Other participants hoped these changes in drug policy would lead to further harm reduction initiatives, like a safe supply to help combat death from acute toxicity poisoning. There has also been much discussion on the miniscule limit of 2.5 grams set for someone to hold at once; professionals and users alike agree that the limit is “too low” and could be dangerous to users if suppliers increase the potency of their drugs to comply with regulations.
So what are we left with, and what option do we have to save lives and not let family, friends, colleagues, and vulnerable people die? Government regulation. Regulation of these illicit substances offers safe supply, destigmatization, a decrease in overdoses, and a decrease in deaths. The systems we currently have in store like overdose prevention sites and safe supply programs helped lessen the burden, but to rid overdose deaths entirely can only be solved with regulation. BC should expand and increase funding and support for their safe supply program (which currently has around 4,500 people receiving care) and overdose prevention sites. Both have proven to prevent overdose deaths, stop the spreading of diseases due to needle sharing, and reduce public use of drugs. Since its opening over twenty years ago, Insite, an overdose prevention site in Vancouver, has had over 4.6 million visits and prevented over 11,000 overdoses with zero deaths.
As drug regulation is a federal matter and decriminalization only passed in BC with special allowance, there is much needed improvement, not only in policy but in communications. The BC NDP would have to work very closely with the federal government to assure a smooth transition into a regulated system, similar to how BC achieved the legal exemptions for the decriminalization program. The BC NDP have had a decent start towards their goals of saving lives, reducing stigma, and increasing treatment and recovery services. However, Eby and his team must put more time, energy, and resources into saving the lives of BC residents and realize that the course for regulation is the right one, and trying to maintain political popularity with actions like expanding involuntary care only harms British Columbians rather than heals.
