How B.C. can win the war on drug addiction
Next Tuesday, the possession of small amounts of drugs – opioids, cocaine, ecstasy, meth – will no longer result in criminal charges in British Columbia. It is a momentous change in the battle against drug overdose deaths but only one part in turning the tide.
The policy goal is to reduce the stigma of drug use, to focus on addiction as a health challenge, not a criminal problem, and ultimately to reduce deaths., but political leaders had been staunchly opposed. As overdose deaths rose to frightening heights, a shift started, with support from the likes of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. In 2021, B.C.’s NDP government, which had opposed decriminalization as recently as 2019, asked Ottawa for an exemption to federal drug laws.
B.C. is entering territory that few have explored. Two decades ago, Portugal decriminalized drugs. Results there showed a decline in deaths and