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The British Columbia government announced Monday that it has called on Ottawa to remove criminal penalties for possession of certain drugs. While the province says the initiative will save lives, some critics are expressing doubts.

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The request, by Mental Health and Addictions Minister Sheila Malcolmson, asks Health Canada to decriminalize possession if a person is carrying 4.5 grams or less of heroin, fentanyl, crack or cocaine powder. and methamphetamine. This is the first such official request from a provincial ministry.

“By decriminalizing, we are removing a barrier to treatment and services. I hear shame and fear lead people to hide their drug use and lead them to use drugs on their own, ”said Malcolmson.

The minister said that instead of going to jail, police will be told not to confiscate drugs and will be trained to provide drug users with information on how and where to get treatment and services. risk reduction.

Some observers have questioned why this app would reduce overdose deaths, when similar decriminalization policies have been in place in British Columbia for years as fatal overdoses continue to rise.

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The solicitor general of British Columbia has ordered police forces across the province to stop making simple possession arrests since before the pandemic. In August 2020, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada asked prosecutors to focus on the most serious drug crimes involving public safety concerns, “and to further seek appropriate alternative measures and diversion of the system. of criminal justice for simple possession cases ”.

Figures released by the BC Coroners Service in September show that there were 1,204 deaths from illicit drugs between January and the end of July – a 28% increase from the same period in 2020.

Nonetheless, Malcolmson insists that things will be different if the federal government accedes to the provincial demand.

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“We continue to hear from drug users that police confiscation (of drugs) puts them in less secure conditions which can lead to overdose. We don’t remove the real stigma without eliminating crime, ”she said. “The police will be able to more fully invite people into the health system. “

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the policy of not prosecuting for simple possession has not been applied in the same way in British Columbia.

“Criminalization is a revolving door that consumes resources and stigmatizes people. This will level the playing field across the province, ”she said.

Groups representing some addicts and others working on the front lines of the overdose crisis have said the 4.5 gram limit is about a day’s supply and should be much higher. They also wanted other drugs such as over-the-counter diazepam to be included in the list of drugs that should be decriminalized.

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Malcolmson suggested those requests remain in discussion with a provincial advisory group that includes police and drug addicts.

“We have taken note that this threshold is the floor and not the ceiling, so the police have the discretion not to lay charges if there is no evidence of trafficking,” said Malcolmson. “The question of poly-users of substances would be above this threshold. We requested factual information to allow larger amounts, but we did not obtain factual information for larger amounts.

British Columbia Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau said she applauds the province’s decision to seek decriminalization, but more action is needed to expand access to a safe supply of drugs that don’t currently does not include pharmaceutical grade methamphetamines, cocaine or heroin.

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“We need decriminalization, yes, and it needs to be combined with a safe, efficient and low-barrier supply of controlled substances,” Furstenau said. “The problem remains that the illicit drug market is toxic, and I urge this government to expand what we see as a safe supply. “

Malcolmson said the province has taken steps in this direction, noting that the current program has seen a 475 percent increase in the number of people with access to treatment or harm reduction since the start of the pandemic.

“The program was limited in the types of drugs offered, so in July we announced an expansion of our safe supply program. Now fentanyl patches are allowed, ”she said.

Meanwhile, in May, the city of Vancouver submitted its own petition to the federal government to decriminalize personal possession within city limits.

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Senator Larry Campbell, a former British Columbia coroner and longtime advocate for decriminalization, believes the provincial request will soon be approved by the federal government.

“I have no doubts that they will get away with this because (Federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions) Carolyn Bennett is a doctor who has incredible experience in this area,” he said. “I don’t think the authorities will say, ‘It’s normal that thousands more people are dying.’ It is life and death and there is nothing more important.

A national poll released earlier this year by the Angus Reid Institute found that a majority of Canadians support the decriminalization of drugs. Of the 5,003 Canadian adults surveyed, 59% – a majority in all provinces except Saskatchewan and New Brunswick – supported the removal of criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of drugs. British Columbia had the highest level of support, at 66 percent .

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