Health minister announces BC will not expand its drug decriminalization project
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Health Minister Josie Osborne announced in Victoria on Wednesday that BC will not continue with its drug decriminalization project.
The three-year pilot project, which allowed people to possess small amounts of illegal drugs, began on January 31, 2023, and will end at the end of this month.
The pilot project was in response to B.C.’s toxic drug crisis, which has killed thousands of people since it was declared a public health emergency in 2016. Politicians and advocates have argued that decriminalizing drug use removes the associated stigma, treating the crisis as a health issue rather than a criminal one. And people become more likely to ask for help.
But, Osborne said the pilot project “did not produce the results we hoped for.”
“At the end of the three-year pilot programme, it is difficult, if not even possible, to attribute some of the changes (in the number of people accessing care) directly to decriminalisation,” the minister said.
The project was part of a pilot project by the federal government, which exempted BC from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) on May 31, 2022. Under the exemption, people aged 18 and over are allowed to possess up to 2.5 grams of cocaine (crack and powder), methamphetamine, MDMA and opioids (including heroin, fentanyl and morphine).
While the decriminalization project is coming to an end, Osborne on Wednesday announced the expansion of Access Central, a phone line service that provides “a single point of entry to connect people with certified health providers and comprehensive, people-centered care.”
Access Central was first launched in Greater Vancouver in 2023. Osborne said it is now available in the Fraser Health, Interior Health and Island Health regions, and will also be available in the Northern Health region “in the future.” Osborn did not give a specific date for that expansion.
Osborne said the province is “fully committed to exploring every option to use evidence-informed tools that can save lives and help connect people to care.”
Osborne said the province has opened more than 760 new beds since 2017 to help people suffering from addiction.
