Proposed change to decriminalization draws ire

VANCOUVER Advocates for drug users are raising concerns about British Columbia’s request for Health Canada to empower police to step in when they see illicit drug use in public spaces, saying it may be a step backward in the fight against the deadly opioid crisis.

- BRIEANNA CHARLEBOIS

Brittany Graham, the executive director of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, said though she hasn’t seen the specifics, the proposed change currently only seems to affect those who have no home and are living in poverty.

“They are going to be recriminalized in every sense of the word and it is very disappointing, in the middle of this overdose crisis when 14,000 people have died, that our current government is blaming our larger problems of homelessness, and poverty, and the welfare state on the individual people who have nowhere to go,” she said in a phone interview.

Graham said the fallout from the proposed change shines a light on other issues the government should be more focused on addressing. “People cannot afford housing anymore,” she said. “This is a housing issue, not a decriminalization issue.”

The three-year decriminalization pilot project was enacted on Jan. 31, 2023, exempting those who are 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.