British Columbia is throwing in the towel on its drug decriminalization experiment just 15 months after it began. The province’s premier is pleading with the Canadian federal government to urgently recriminalize drugs — hoping the move will put an end to a spate of chaos and violence in public (including inside of hospitals) and skyrocketing overdose deaths.
Premier David Eby first decriminalized possession of upwards of 2.5 grams of illicit substances —including fentanyl, crack cocaine, and methamphetamine — in January of 2023. Eby’s far-left New Democratic Party (NDP) hailed the move as a major win for “harm reduction” and claimed that it would reduce the stigmatization of drug users. They argued that destigmatizing drug use would prompt addicts to seek treatment and lower overdose deaths. They were wrong.
Over the past 15 months, the province has seen skyrocketing drug use in public, including in restaurants, on playgrounds, and even in hospitals. Several small businesses closed because of growing crime and break-ins.
On Instagram, Safe Streets Vancouver, a self-described group of “concerned residents” took to documenting the public chaos.
During the high-risk trial, numerous frontline healthcare workers went to their unions and the media to complain about unsafe work environments in the wake of Eby’s decriminalization.
A leaked hospital memo from northern British Columbia (BC) revealed that nurses were told to not prevent patients from accessing drugs, and not to confiscate weapons or prevent drug dealers from visiting patients. The province also saw its worst year for overdose deaths: nearly seven people died of an opioid overdose each day in BC in 2023.
While the pilot project was intended to last three years, the resulting chaos and crime made the NDP scramble to address growing public backlash.
Eby asked the federal government to put an end to it on April 26. This came after Eby tried but failed to implement legislation in October of 2023 that would make it illegal to consume illicit drugs in public spaces, including on playgrounds. As reported by The Publica, the BC Supreme Court overruled Eby’s legislation, arguing that drug users have a constitutional right to use in public spaces.
The BC government appealed the ruling, then—after realizing that it could take a year or more for the appeal to go through—decided to ask the federal government for help.
Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has yet to grant Eby’s request, which has drawn ire from Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre. Addressing the House of Commons, Poilievre accused Trudeau of “wasting time” while citizens were dying of drug overdoses in BC.
It has been four days since Eby’s request was made; the federal government says the request is currently “under review.”
