B.C. to recriminalize use of drugs in public spaces

B CS Premier says it is time for a different approach to fighting the province’s toxic drug crisis. He’s now asking Ottawa to allow the province to recriminalize drug use in all public spaces. The shift comes amid serious concerns about public safety, and as Mira Baines reports, David Eby says he acknowledges some mistakes. In short, this amendment will make public drug use illegal in British Columbia. Premier David EB has been under intense pressure to address the unintended consequences of decriminalization and and a reality of a quickly escalating situation on the ground and a growing concern that I share with British Columbians that hospitals, restaurants, communities need to be safe. He expects Health Canada to make the changes as soon as possible. They would make illicit drug use illegal in public spaces, including hospitals, restaurants, transit parks and beaches. Under the pilot, people will be able to legally use illicit drugs in private homes, overdose prevention sites while they’re legally sheltering and at drug checking locations. Drug use has evolved from primarily injection to more widespread inhalation that significantly increase the risk of public exposure. The province had tried to use legislation to prevent drug use in some public areas, but it was blocked in court. Under the new amendment, police will have that authority to deal with drug use in public. Our police officers do need to have legal authority to intervene in those rare situations where people are using illicit drugs under circumstances that are problematic. It’s a welcome move for the mayor of Nanaimo, whose community has been struggling with public disorder. This is a positive step. It’s the politically sensible thing to do. And I think for most people it is logical. It’s overdue. The public support for this will be tremendous. The criticism of the program, which is a little over a year old, has been wrapping up as political parties prepare for a fall election. The highlight of the absolute lack of appropriate planning by this government to implement a dangerous experiment on the public her party would end the pilot. The BC Conservatives, who have been gaining momentum in recent polls, join that call. But what I can never understand is why he thought in the 1st place that it was OK to walk down the street smoking a crack pipe, but it wasn’t OK to walk down the street drinking a beer. The premier accepted criticism of how the program was brought in. I absolutely accept the critique that we need to do more, that these authorities are needed and and have been needed for a while. In addition to the changes, the province says it will be setting up virtual clinics to help people in remote areas get access to medication assisted treatment. Muir Baines, CBC News Vancouver No reaction to this big change in the decriminalization pilot has been swift, as you saw. Some hope it will address troubling behavior in public. But as Liam Britton explains, people who use drugs and their advocates argue it is misguided. Ray Bonnet Rouge from Fort Providence First Nation is a former drug addict. I use almost every chemical you could possibly use, right? He’s been clean for 17 years. But he says things have changed when it comes to drug use, and he’s no fan of decriminalization. It’s permission to do it wherever you want, right? That open drug use at parks like Andy Livingstone downtown will soon no longer be allowed is a good thing. He believes that will clean up a lot of places that don’t deserve to have that. Also at Andy Livingstone today was Jeremy Crowe. He’s a current opioid user. He agrees some people use drugs in inappropriate places, but he’s no fan of being hassled by police. They’re doing this for cyber survival for a reason. We can’t live in a normal society either. I can’t. Today’s decriminalization walk back was welcome news to some city leaders like Richmond councillor Alexa Liu. It gives the community back our parks, our open spaces and our beaches, and it sets a precedent for how people need to behave in public. Garth Mullins with the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users says the change smacks of political cowardice from the NDP. Absolutely. I mean the the opposition have been beating up the government for months on this, and now they’re folding like a cheap tent, he says. It could mean real danger for people who use drugs in the open. I wanted someone to see it and call 911 if that happened to me. So I think we’re going to be driving people back into the alleys and that’s that’s backwards. You know, we’re just going back, back to the bad old days. UBC professor Mark Hayden, who’s studied addiction and drug use, says open use is a problem, but the answer is not recriminalizing. Yeah, playgrounds should not have people injecting drugs on them. That makes complete sense. But people are only injecting in in inappropriate environments if they don’t have access to appropriate environments. And that’s the goal that we need to have as we head into an election. There’s little sign this hot topic issue is going away. Liam Britton, CBC News, Vancouver.