British Columbia’s three-year pilot project that decriminalized the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use is set to end on Jan. 31.
Health Minister Josie Osbourne has announced B.C. will not be extending the program. Here are some of the key moments in its history.
Health Canada grants the B.C. government’s request for an exemption from s. 56 of the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
The three-year exemption is implemented in B.C. The change decriminalizes the personal possession of up to 2.5 grams cumulatively of opioids, crack and powdered cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA for adults. Possession continues to be prohibited around schools, childcare facilities, airports and during the operation of motor vehicles.
The Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act receives Royal Assent in the B.C. legislature. The bill prohibits consumption of illegal substances in public spaces and authorizes police to seize them and/or direct people to stop. Three days later, the Harm Reduction Nurses Association asks B.C. Supreme Court to declare Bill 34 unconstitutional. The court later grants a temporary injunction, preventing the bill from going into effect.
Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside releases a statement marking the one-year anniversary of decriminalization, saying ending the project won’t save “a single life.”
Health Canada grants an amendment that curtails B.C.‘s exemption. Decriminalization is restricted to possession in private homes and places where homeless people are legally sheltering, as well as overdose prevention, drug checking and supervised consumption sites and health-care clinics providing outpatient addiction services.
When asked about extending B.C.‘s exemption that allows for decriminalization, Premier David Eby says the province is “not going back to the old policy of decriminalized public drug use in British Columbia.” He says “it didn’t work and we ended that.”
Health Minister Josie Osborne announces the province will not seek an extension of its exemption agreement with Health Canada. Osborne says the goal of the pilot project was to make it easier for people to come forward and seek help, but it “hasn’t delivered the results” officials hoped for.
