The executive director of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, an advocacy group for legal and regulated supply of illicit drugs such as cocaine and heroin, says new provincial restrictions on drug use in public spaces will further imperil the lives of people using those drugs.
Furthermore, Brittany Graham charges that the B.C. government has reacted to concerns from municipalities about drug use in parks that have no grounding in facts.
“We're highly disappointed in the direction that the ministry has decided to go when there is no evidence of increased public use under decriminalization, they've decided to go as punitive as they possibly could go at this moment in the middle of an overdose crisis," she said.
On Thursday, the provincial government introduced new legislation to ban drug use in public and “recreation-focused spaces” including parks, beaches, sports fields and six metres from a building entrance or bus stop. The announcement comes after the government heard largely anecdotal evidence from municipalities concerned about drug use in parks, and particularly around children's play areas following last January’s launch of a three-year pilot law to decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs.
The legislation includes all portions of parks and sports fields whereas the government previously indicated proposed restrictions would only apply on school grounds and within a perimeter surrounding playgrounds and water parks.
Thursday’s announcement runs contrary to the goals of decriminalizing possession of small amounts, namely destigmatizing drug use, said Graham.
“This destigmatizes drugs for people who need that opportunity to speak to their family and friends, to speak to their work about what's going on in their life, and not be alone and not use drugs alone. But instead, we're pushing people to the margins. Where will they go? They will go to alleyways and under bridges and to other areas that their friends and family don't know where they are, and they will die alone, and we will have an increase in overdose deaths,” Graham said.
Graham also questions the proposed solutions government is putting forth alongside the new legislation.
Premier David Eby’s statement called on police to enforce the new law by having officers “redirect people to safer spaces where they can be connected to health-care services and treatment.”
“The restricting public consumption of illegal substances act will encourage people who use drugs to use safely at local overdose prevention sites to keep community spaces free of illegal drug use,” the government stated.
But Graham said there are only about 45 overdose prevention sites across all of B.C. and many municipalities have none. (The figure depends on one's definition of such as site, Graham noted.)
“There are not enough overdose prevention sites in this province to accept everyone that needs one when they need it,” said Graham.
“Beyond that, treatment facilities, for years I have helped people get into detox and treatment when they need it and as someone who knows the system in and out, I literally have to put on my thinking cap to get people into the system. The system doesn't exist right now,” added Graham.
Finally, Graham noted she has not seen any actual data to suggest drug use in public spaces has either increased or been a quantifiable concern in municipalities.
“I've asked multiple people; I've asked within the VPD (Vancouver Police Department) and they said they haven't seen an increase. From what I've heard from the RCMP, what they specifically told me on a core planning table call, was that there has been an increase in interest in public use. That is it. And (provincial health officer) Bonnie Henry has also said that there is no increase and [Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jennifer Whiteside] has also said there is no increase. There is no increase,” said Graham.
The new restrictions also cast shade on decriminalization’s goal of reducing civil possession charges across the province, a figure Graham says is down roughly 75 per cent since February.
Now, the worry from Graham is that police will be re-engaged with drug users.
Fiona Wilson, VPD deputy chief and vice-president of the BC Association of Chiefs of Police, said in the government statement that police “must apply our discretion and utilize the act only when behaviour is problematic or repeated.”
B.C. police chiefs have, in the past, supported decriminalization but had heard from mayors such as Port Coquitlam’s Brad West that bylaw officers were being tasked to clear drug users away from children’s play areas.
The government statement suggests enforcement will be one of redirecting people to help, as Eby affirmed drug use and addiction must be treated as a matter of health, not criminality.
“Our goal is to not criminalize drug users, but to continue to direct people to alternate pathways of care while at the same time supporting our community's sense of safety,” explained Wilson.
At issue is the decriminalization of possession of up to 2.5 grams of fentanyl, heroin, crack, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA on Jan. 31 — part of a pilot program with the federal government.
In B.C. to Aug. 1, 1,455 people have died from an overdose from an illegal and unregulated drug. This is a rate of 46.2 people per 100,000 residents. Last year was a record rate of 44.8, whereas in 2013 the rate was 7.2. The massive uptick is largely attributed to drug toxicity, according to the BC Coroners Service.
Opioid toxicity deaths are mostly in men (77 per cent) and largely equal across all age groups. A quarter of deaths occur in Vancouver and 75 per cent occur inside a residence; whereas about one in five occur outside. Fentanyl is detected in 83 per cent of all victims.
B.C. is the worst jurisdiction in Canada for such deaths. In 2022, the rate across the country was 18.8 people per 100,000 residents, although Health Canada notes this figure is likely lower due to undercounting of some overdose types, such as with stimulants.
In America, the rate was 32.5 people per 100,000 residents in 2021, according to the U.S. Centre for Disease Control.
Mayors such as West and Delta Mayor George Harvie have become the most recent advocates of a dedicated port police, which Vancouver lacks unlike most Western ports. The largest source of fentanyl is believed to be from China, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
