It hasn’t quite thrown in the towel on its controversial drug decriminalization program, but the BC government is throwing up its hands at what it says are barriers to restricting where and how narcotics can be openly used in public — including hospitals and public health facilities.Jennifer Whiteside, BC’s minister for mental health and addictions, is meeting with her federal counterpart Ya’ara Saks in Vancouver on Friday, where she is reportedly asking the Liberal government to review exemptions that allow users to smoke meth in hospital rooms, among others.She’ll also reportedly be asking Ottawa to support more supervised drug consumption sites and request additional resources for its so-called safe supply program..It comes as BC’s NDP government faces increasing pushback from municipalities over open drug use in their communities.On Thursday, the City of Kamloops wrote a letter to Premier David Eby calling for the end of the three-year decriminalization pilot. The irony is that municipalities have the power to regulate — and penalize — public consumption of alcohol and tobacco.“We want the same rules as smokers and drinkers have that we can enforce. This is just one more tool that we need,” wrote deputy mayor Bill Sarai. “It’s mind boggling how the province can’t get this passed the court system when lesser – to a degree lesser – harmful stuff can’t be done in common spaces, but this can.”.“We don't want to stigmatize anyone, but we have to think about our entire community and their safety. I do not believe that the decriminalization is working.”Fort St. John Mayor Lilia Hansen.He was joined by the mayor of Fort St. John, Lilia Hansen, who also called for an end to the program. In the US, states such as Oregon have moved to rescind similar programs.“We don't want to stigmatize anyone, but we have to think about our entire community and their safety," she said. “I do not believe that the decriminalization is working.”But the provincial government says its hands are tied with respect to the decriminalization pilot that began on January 31 2023 because it falls under the Criminal Code. An attempt to pass laws to restrict open drug use in places such as beaches and public parks last November was suspended pending a Charter of Rights challenge to the Supreme Court..In Portugal, since decriminalization, the proportion of prisoners sentenced for drugs has fallen from 40% to 15%..Senior police officials testified before a House parliamentary committee last week that decriminalization went ahead without necessary steps to maintain public order. In recent weeks hospital workers have complained they are powerless to stop the use of dangerous drugs in washrooms and halls — even in a maternity unit — which they say is putting lives at risk.On its website, the BC government says decriminalization has been implemented in some form in many other jurisdictions including Portugal, Uruguay, Germany, Lithuania, Australia and the Czech Republic.It denied decriminalization is not associated with increased rates of substance use and touted cost savings to the criminal justice system. In Portugal, since decriminalization, the proportion of prisoners sentenced for drugs has fallen from 40% to 15%.“The substantial reduction in arrests and charges alleviates pressure on the criminal justice system. Available evidence suggests that decriminalization can be an effective way to reduce the harms associated with substance use and criminalization,” it said..“We have attempted to put in place a system that recognizes some of the impacts we've seen on the ongoing toxic drug crisis that we're in, including public drug use by some individuals and we're not going to let it go,”BC Premier David Eby.Premier Eby this week acknowledged some of the concerns with the program but said he was unwilling to back down.“We have attempted to put in place a system that recognizes some of the impacts we've seen on the ongoing toxic drug crisis that we're in, including public drug use by some individuals and we're not going to let it go,” he said.
