B.C. puts more restrictions on decriminalized illicit drugs, banning possession near play areas

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The B.C. government has received federal approval to amend the rules on the possession of decriminalized illicit drugs, allowing the province to outlaw them around public spaces used by children, including any neighbourhood playgrounds, splash pads, wading pools and skateboard parks.

Starting Monday, police across the province can seize opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA – the illegal drugs that are most commonly associated with overdoses – that they find on anyone within 15 metres of these areas and they can also arrest and recommend charges of possession.

In January, the province began a three-year pilot project decriminalizing possession of up to 2.5 grams of these drugs anywhere except outside of schools and daycares, which Health Canada approved through a federal exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

Premier David Eby acknowledged Thursday at an unrelated press conference that “a number of local governments” across the province complained about the public consumption of drugs after his government made this significant policy shift.

“While we want people to be able to come forward and not fear arrest for struggling with addiction, we also recognize that places where kids are … are not places where people should be using hard drugs,” he told reporters.

He said his government will introduce a new law when the legislature returns to Victoria this fall that will add even more new public areas where the possession of small amounts of these drugs will be outlawed.

Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, declined to say Thursday at the same press conference when her province first approached Ottawa to amend its exemptions for decriminalization.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said the city had asked the provincial government to get Health Canada to make the change.

“This is a positive step forward in helping to find balance for our communities, including families, seniors, children, and our most vulnerable residents,” he said in a statement released Thursday.

Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto said decriminalization is one part of the response to the toxic drug crisis, but it’s important to take steps that specifically protect children.

The change in January was meant to lessen the stigma of addiction and motivate people struggling with drug use to seek help – part of the response to a toxic drug crisis that is killing six people in the province daily.

Earlier this week, BC United Leader Kevin Falcon said his party would immediately end the NDP’s “reckless decriminalization of illicit drugs” if it is elected in the next provincial election a year from now. His party would also enact a complete ban on open drug use in parks, playgrounds, beaches and public spaces.

On Thursday, federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Ya’ara Saks said her government granted B.C. the initial exemption as an innovative solution to the crisis of people dying from tainted illicit drugs.

In response to the recent amendment, she said in a statement: “This is a key step in ensuring people feel safe in their communities, while continuing to support some of the most vulnerable populations.”

In January, Ms. Saks’s predecessor, Carolyn Bennett, told The Globe and Mail that B.C. will track the progress of the decriminalization pilot through a range of indicators. These include “morbidity and mortality, in terms of overdoses; overall rates of substance use, but also the interactions with the criminal justice system; the people who have been charged for simple possession, or trends in drug seizures.”

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research is also funding a separate review of the decriminalization pilot that will build on the B.C. data.

The production, trafficking, sharing and exportation of these drugs remain illegal, but officers who find people with small amounts can hand out resource cards with information on local health and social services.

Supporters say decriminalization is a critical step in overhauling punitive drug laws that have caused more harm than good and are incompatible with government and public-health messaging that addiction is a health issue.

With a report from The Canadian Press