Decriminalize possession

A Vancouver Police Department patch is seen on an officer’s uniform on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Small drug seizures down in Vancouver, claims otherwise ‘patently false’

City’s drug police respond to report that seizures appeared to have increased since decriminalization

A Vancouver Police Department patch is seen on an officer’s uniform on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jennifer Whiteside steps away from the podium after speaking during a news conference in Vancouver, on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. Whiteside says ending the province’s three-year drug decriminalization project won’t save “a single life,” as the overdose death toll continues to rise. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

As drug decriminalization turns 1, ending it won’t save lives: B.C. minister

Jennifer Whiteside says program in place to reduce shame, encourage people to seek help

B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jennifer Whiteside steps away from the podium after speaking during a news conference in Vancouver, on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. Whiteside says ending the province’s three-year drug decriminalization project won’t save “a single life,” as the overdose death toll continues to rise. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Premier David Eby, here seen with Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside and Jonny Morris, Chief Executive Officer at Canadian Mental Health Association, says B.C. won’t follow Oregon’s plan as it plans to reverse elements of its drug decriminalization law. But B.C. will continue to monitor other jurisdictions’ responses to deaths from unregulated drugs. (Screencap)

B.C. won’t follow Oregon in drug decriminalization reversal: Eby

Province set a new record in 2023 with at least 2,511 deaths related to unregulated drugs

Premier David Eby, here seen with Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside and Jonny Morris, Chief Executive Officer at Canadian Mental Health Association, says B.C. won’t follow Oregon’s plan as it plans to reverse elements of its drug decriminalization law. But B.C. will continue to monitor other jurisdictions’ responses to deaths from unregulated drugs. (Screencap)
B.C. Premier David Eby speaks during a news conference in Vancouver, B.C., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. Eby says he’s disturbed by the record number of people who died in the province last year of illicit drug overdoses and recognizes they aren’t doing enough to stop it. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Eby underscores ‘fundamental’ disagreement with B.C. chief coroner on safe supply

Lapointe used her final public event as chief coroner to call out current gaps

B.C. Premier David Eby speaks during a news conference in Vancouver, B.C., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. Eby says he’s disturbed by the record number of people who died in the province last year of illicit drug overdoses and recognizes they aren’t doing enough to stop it. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
Protesters stop at the intersection of Powell and Main streets in Vancouver to listen to speeches on April 14, 2023 during an event marking the seventh anniversary of the toxic drug deaths in B.C. (Photo: Lauren Collins)

Calls for more addiction treatment as B.C. drug decriminalization enters 2nd year

Toronto has also filed an application with Health Canada for an exemption from federal drug laws

Protesters stop at the intersection of Powell and Main streets in Vancouver to listen to speeches on April 14, 2023 during an event marking the seventh anniversary of the toxic drug deaths in B.C. (Photo: Lauren Collins)
Moms Stop the Harm advocates and supporters gather in Victoria on April 14, 2022 to mark the sixth anniversary of the toxic drug death public health emergency. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

‘Unconstitutional’: Harm reduction nurses suing B.C. over public drug use ban

Nurses association says new restrictions are putting drug user’s lives at further risk

Moms Stop the Harm advocates and supporters gather in Victoria on April 14, 2022 to mark the sixth anniversary of the toxic drug death public health emergency. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) board member Martin Steward speaks in MacLean Park in Vancouver on Oct. 4. The group says new provincial restrictions on public drug consumption will have deadly effects on the community. (Jane Skrypnek/Black Press Media)

B.C. drug users group says new consumption rules stigmatizing them further

Province introduced restrictions last month, promises further public drug use legislation soon

Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) board member Martin Steward speaks in MacLean Park in Vancouver on Oct. 4. The group says new provincial restrictions on public drug consumption will have deadly effects on the community. (Jane Skrypnek/Black Press Media)
Coun. Trish Mandewo of Coquitlam is the new president of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities. Mandewo, who is the first Black president of UBCM in its history, assumes the office from past president Coun. Jen Ford of Whistler. (UBCM/Flickr)

Decriminalization, climate change and housing top issues at UBCM conference

New UBCM prez says organization is ready to work with province

Coun. Trish Mandewo of Coquitlam is the new president of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities. Mandewo, who is the first Black president of UBCM in its history, assumes the office from past president Coun. Jen Ford of Whistler. (UBCM/Flickr)
The chief of a municipal police force in Metro Vancouver has issued an open letter criticizing B.C.’s drug decriminalization policy as ineffective in the face of the ongoing overdose crisis. Leah Hill, a behavioral health fellow with the Baltimore City Health Department, displays a sample of Narcan nasal spray in Baltimore on Jan. 23, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Patrick Semansky

B.C. police chief casts doubt on B.C. drug decriminalization effectiveness

Neil Dubord said early returns have not shown the desired outcome

The chief of a municipal police force in Metro Vancouver has issued an open letter criticizing B.C.’s drug decriminalization policy as ineffective in the face of the ongoing overdose crisis. Leah Hill, a behavioral health fellow with the Baltimore City Health Department, displays a sample of Narcan nasal spray in Baltimore on Jan. 23, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Patrick Semansky
FILE - Union of British Columbia Municipalities president Jen Ford speaks at the 2022 convention on Sept. 16, 2022. Ford welcomes Premier David Eby’s promises to help municipalities around drug use in public spaces as more communities are looking at their options, but she’s urging speed.(UBCM/Flickr)

UBCM president welcomes Eby’s support on public drug-use issue, but urges speed

Whistler Coun. Jen Ford says ‘there is not one solution that works for everyone’

FILE - Union of British Columbia Municipalities president Jen Ford speaks at the 2022 convention on Sept. 16, 2022. Ford welcomes Premier David Eby’s promises to help municipalities around drug use in public spaces as more communities are looking at their options, but she’s urging speed.(UBCM/Flickr)
A pouch containing crystallized methamphetamine and a homemade pipe are shown March 21, 2006, in Window Rock, Ariz. Decriminalization of some hard drugs began in B.C. on Tuesday after the federal government granted B.C.’s request for an exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act as part of a plan to combat an overdose crisis that has claimed over 11,000 lives since 2016.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Matt York

Drug users say B.C. ‘fight continues’ during decriminalization amid safe supply calls

Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users handing out ‘know your rights’ cards in wake of new policy

A pouch containing crystallized methamphetamine and a homemade pipe are shown March 21, 2006, in Window Rock, Ariz. Decriminalization of some hard drugs began in B.C. on Tuesday after the federal government granted B.C.’s request for an exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act as part of a plan to combat an overdose crisis that has claimed over 11,000 lives since 2016.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Matt York
B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, from left to right, Carolyn Bennett, federal minister of Mental Health and Addictions, and B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jennifer Whiteside stand together during a news conference in Vancouver, on Monday, January 30, 2023. Decriminalization of people with small amounts of illegal drugs for their own use has become a reality in British Columbia, but substance users and researchers say the move is expected to make little immediate difference because of a toxic drug supply that is killing people. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

‘Dangerous’ to think B.C.’s decriminalization plan will reduce OD deaths: researcher

Users will not be arrested or have their drugs seized by police starting Tuesday

B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, from left to right, Carolyn Bennett, federal minister of Mental Health and Addictions, and B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jennifer Whiteside stand together during a news conference in Vancouver, on Monday, January 30, 2023. Decriminalization of people with small amounts of illegal drugs for their own use has become a reality in British Columbia, but substance users and researchers say the move is expected to make little immediate difference because of a toxic drug supply that is killing people. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Back on Track recovery house operator Cole Izsak (left) and South Surrey parent Maggie Plett (holding a photo of her son, Zachary) walk north along White Rock’s Johnston Road with dozens of others in a 2019 effort to raise awareness around the overdose crisis. (Tracy Holmes file photo)

Decriminalizing small amounts of illicit drugs ‘may save pain, lives,’ says expert

Concerns expressed as B.C. approaches Jan. 31 launch of three-year pilot

Back on Track recovery house operator Cole Izsak (left) and South Surrey parent Maggie Plett (holding a photo of her son, Zachary) walk north along White Rock’s Johnston Road with dozens of others in a 2019 effort to raise awareness around the overdose crisis. (Tracy Holmes file photo)
FILE—Vanessa Caudel, a nurse, sits at her work station in the Great Circle treatment center on Feb. 24, 2022, in Salem, Ore., where she provides doses of methadone, which can relieve the “dope sick” symptoms a person in opioid withdrawal experiences. Almost two years after Oregonians voted to decriminalize drugs and dedicate hundreds of millions of dollars to treatment services, the pioneering effort has been struggling to show progress. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky, File)

After rocky start, hopes up in Oregon drug decriminalization

State still has one of highest addiction rates in country

FILE—Vanessa Caudel, a nurse, sits at her work station in the Great Circle treatment center on Feb. 24, 2022, in Salem, Ore., where she provides doses of methadone, which can relieve the “dope sick” symptoms a person in opioid withdrawal experiences. Almost two years after Oregonians voted to decriminalize drugs and dedicate hundreds of millions of dollars to treatment services, the pioneering effort has been struggling to show progress. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky, File)
CPA President Tom Stamatakis. (Tom Stamatakis/Twitter)

Police association president supports decriminalization but says it won’t curb crime in B.C.

CPA president says B.C. minister misrepresented police decriminalization stance

CPA President Tom Stamatakis. (Tom Stamatakis/Twitter)
B.C. Attorney General David Eby and Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson announced a $150 million settlement with Purdue Pharma Canada on June 29. (Jane Skrypnek/Black Press Media)

B.C.-led lawsuit against Purdue Pharma results in $150M settlement

Money to be distributed throughout Canada for health care costs incurred from opioid damage

B.C. Attorney General David Eby and Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson announced a $150 million settlement with Purdue Pharma Canada on June 29. (Jane Skrypnek/Black Press Media)
Holly Trider of ANKORS at an April demonstration in Nelson calling for decriminalization and safe drug supply. Advocates say last week’s decriminalization announcement doesn’t go far enough to be effective. Photo: Bill Metcalfe

‘Do the police need to carry little scales?’: Nelson’s top cop questions decriminalization enforcement

Chief Donovan Fisher says there’s been no direction given to police

Holly Trider of ANKORS at an April demonstration in Nelson calling for decriminalization and safe drug supply. Advocates say last week’s decriminalization announcement doesn’t go far enough to be effective. Photo: Bill Metcalfe
A man pauses at a coffin after carrying it during a memorial march to remember victims of overdose deaths in Vancouver on August 15, 2020. Advocates say Health Canada’s announcement to decriminalize personal possession of 2.5 grams will do little to save people’s lives. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

For decriminalization to save lives, users need to be allowed to carry more drugs: B.C. advocates

Health Canada nearly halved requested personal possession amount in approval May 31

A man pauses at a coffin after carrying it during a memorial march to remember victims of overdose deaths in Vancouver on August 15, 2020. Advocates say Health Canada’s announcement to decriminalize personal possession of 2.5 grams will do little to save people’s lives. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, May 16, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle

Liberals pressed on whether B.C. drug decriminalization could pave way nationally

House of Commons rejects NDP bill to allow drugs for personal use countrywide

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada David Lametti rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, May 16, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle
B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson holds a copy of exemption documents in Vancouver on Tuesday, May 31, 2022, after British Columbia was granted authority to decriminalize possession of some hard drugs for personal use. 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Decriminalization of hard drugs puts B.C. in small, select group of jurisdictions

Portugal and a handfull of South American countries among the others to take similar steps

B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson holds a copy of exemption documents in Vancouver on Tuesday, May 31, 2022, after British Columbia was granted authority to decriminalize possession of some hard drugs for personal use. 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck