(Vancouver) Advocates for drug users are concerned about B.C.’s request for Health Canada to allow police to intervene when they see illicit drug use in public spaces, saying it could be a step back in the fight against the 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 appears to only affect those who are unhoused and living in poverty.
“They are going to be recriminalized in every sense of the word and it is very disappointing, in the midst of this overdose crisis where 14,000 people have died, that our current government is blaming our larger problems of homelessness, poverty and the state of public assistance on individuals who have nowhere to go,” she lamented in a telephone interview.
Mme Graham noted that the implications of the proposed change highlight other issues the government should focus more on.
“People can no longer afford housing,” she noted. This is a housing issue, not a decriminalization issue. »
The three-year decriminalization pilot passed on January 31, 2023, exempting those in possession of small amounts of opioids from facing criminal charges. Exemptions apply to drugs including 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 end public drug use.”
“Irreparable harm”
British Columbia’s request follows repeated criticism from politicians, health workers and police over the policy, including open drug use in public spaces.
The province had 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.
PHOTO JONATHAN HAYWARD, THE CANADIAN PRESS
British Columbia said Friday it was working with Health Canada to “urgently change decriminalization policy to end public drug use.”
Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson ruled in December that if the laws were passed, “irreparable harm would be caused.”
Premier David Eby announced that the province has now requested that the changes come from Health Canada by 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 transport and in parks.
Corey Ranger, president of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association, called the move “totally unethical.”
“We are very concerned and sincerely believe that this is an inappropriate circumvention of the order of the Supreme Court of British Columbia,” he said in an interview.
British Columbia has failed to act transparently and consult with the people who will be most affected by this problem.
Corey Ranger, President of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association
The association issued a news release earlier this month saying it had contacted the provincial government “to discuss legal and policy changes.”
“The association is calling on the province to make productive efforts rather than continuing to defend a law that puts lives at risk,” the April 16 press release said about the law.
Ranger said Friday’s announcement came as a surprise, noting the province had not provided an official response to the association’s request.
“It appears their response was an announcement that they were going to seek an amendment to their exemption for the decriminalization pilot,” he said.
Mr. Ranger said he believed the request was an attempt to “score political points” ahead of the provincial election scheduled for the fall.
“We should be working on solutions like housing and mental health supports, but instead they have regressed to the only thing they know, which is punishment,” he argued.
Corey Ranger said the association is not yet able to determine what the next steps will be, because members have not yet seen the request from the province.
The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the criticism.
Doubts about police discretion
Mr. Eby told a news conference Friday that police need tools to deal with extraordinary circumstances when people compromise public safety by using drugs. He said police will be given instructions to arrest people for simple possession only in “exceptional circumstances”.
PHOTO DARRYL DYCK, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Prime Minister David Eby
Guy Felicella, a harm reduction expert based in Vancouver, said he agrees there should be rules around public consumption in places like playgrounds, but he still has many questions on what the exemption would mean, particularly in relation to police discretion.
“That’s the part that concerns me and that’s what I need clarity on,” he said.
Having struggled with addiction for decades and having faced more than 50 drug-related convictions, he said he believed recriminalization would not work.
“When you’re caught up in all this, it’s very, very, very difficult to break free,” he noted of the justice system. “It’s just a revolving door (of) rinse, wash, on repeat for decades, and I can tell you, when I look back on it, breaking free from that was probably the hardest thing. »
He attributes much of his recovery 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 spent 11 years sober in my job. My recovery gives me the life I have today, Mr. Felicella said. But it all rested 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 says more buy-in from the province’s municipalities is needed.
“We need to give them a place to go,” he suggested of drug users.