BC’s Decriminalization of Illicit Drugs to Start Jan. 31

Fake oxycontin pills containing fentanyl are displayed during a news conference at RCMP headquarters in Surrey, B.C., on Sept. 3, 2015. Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press

On Jan. 31, the B.C. government will decriminalize possession of hard drugs under a temporary authorization by Health Canada. Adults over 18 will not be arrested or charged, and their drugs will not be seized, if found in possession of less than 2.5 grams total of any combination of cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA, heroin, fentanyl, and/or morphine, for personal use.

Carolyn Bennett, federal minister of mental health and addictions, said at a news conference in Vancouver on Jan. 30 that the province’s “harm reduction” plan will “reduce the stigma, the fear, and shame that keep people who use drugs silent about their use, or using alone.”

“Supervised consumption sites, which prioritize the dignity and safety of people who use drugs, have saved lives and guided many Canadians towards treatment. We know that access to treatment remains a gap,” said Bennett.

The three-year experimental program, authorized by Health Canada in May 2022, grants B.C. the first provincial exemption from the federal government’s Controlled Drug and Substances Act from Jan. 31, 2023, to Jan. 31, 2026.

B.C. originally requested that drug users be able to possess up to 4.5 grams of illicit drugs, which will remain illegal.

“This exemption is not legalization,” said Bennett. “All activities with illegal drugs, including production, trafficking, import, and export remain illegal, even if conducted with the drugs listed in the exemption in amounts under the 2.5 grams threshold,” she said.

The program could affect drug policy across Canada, and contrasts sharply with Alberta’s focus on recovery and treatment programs, which includes the construction of a 75-bed long-term residential treatment facility in Red Deer, announced on Jan. 16, plus five more recovery communities in various stages of planning throughout the province.

B.C. Minister of Health Jennifer Whiteside echoed many of the remarks made by Bennett, stating those found with illegal drugs “will be treated with care and compassion.”

“Decriminalizing people who use drugs is a critical step in tackling the toxic drug crisis,” she said.

Experimental

Whiteside said the province had invested over $11 million to hire “substance abuse navigators in all health authorities” to be “on the ground dedicated to connecting people who use drugs with the help they need.”

The province has also developed new training for police officers, which the minister said had been taken by more than two-thirds of the police force, and included photographs showing what 2.5 grams of drugs looks like.

Whiteside said the province wants “parents to know that we are always discouraging youth from experimenting with drugs.”

Meanwhile, the federal government said it will create a “dashboard” of information for the public to be updated quarterly and to “evaluate data on how decriminalization is working.”

Possession of illegal substances will remain illegal at schools, daycares, airports, and in most cases on private property such as stores, bars, and cafes.