PANDORA SPEAKS

What went wrong with decriminalization in British Columbia? Those on the streets have a message for Toronto

- KATHARINE LAKE BERZ

Drug users sit on Victoria's Pandora avenue. Just 15 months into its pilot to decriminalize hard drugs, B.C. has reversed course.

On a sunny afternoon, a young woman inhales crack cocaine in full sight on a grim sidewalk where those in the throes of addiction often gather.

A few days earlier, Victoria police officers would have ignored her smoking glass pipe as they walked by. The use of small amounts of illicit drugs in public had been decriminalized in an experiment to fight overdose deaths. But the law has just changed. British Columbia has reversed course. Now, holding a loaded pipe on the street is once again a crime.

The woman smokes it anyway.

When British Columbia embarked in January 2023 on a landmark three-year pilot project to decriminalize small amounts of hard drugs such as meth, cocaine and heroin, it was hoped that focusing on treatment over punishment would help stem soaring toxic drug deaths across the province.

It was a hope that Toronto shared in its own plan to decriminalize possession of all controlled drugs and substances for personal use. But on Friday night, federal Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya'ara Saks issued a statement rejecting Toronto's request.

Toronto's proposal "does not adequately protect public health and maintain public safety. This includes concerns with feasibility and ability for law enforcement to implement the proposed model, protection of youth, and lack of support from key players including the Province of Ontario," said Saks.

Just 15 months into its pilot to decriminalize hard drugs, however, B.C. has reversed course after decriminalization appeared unable to slow the addiction crisis and soaring drug use in parks, restaurants and hospitals led to concerns that community safety was at risk.