The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in “all public spaces,” marking a major shift in the province’s approach to decriminalization.
While possession of small amounts of hard drugs will remain legal, officials announced Friday they are working with Health Canada to update B.C.’s exemption to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to give police more power to crack down on using drugs in public – including in hospitals, restaurants and parks.
“Keeping people safe is our highest priority,” Premier David Eby said in a statement. “While we are caring and compassionate for those struggling with addiction, we do not accept street disorder that makes communities feel unsafe.”
Under the requested ban, police would be able to force drug users to leave a public area – and also to seize their drugs and arrest them, at the officer’s discretion.
In a news release, the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General said police will be instructed to “only arrest for simple possession of illicit drugs in exceptional circumstances.”
The updated exemption would also address concerns raised from some health-care professionals, including the B.C. Nurses’ Union, around drug use in hospital settings.
Officials said hospital staff would not begin searching patients for drugs, but would instead seek co-operation, and store substances for users who voluntarily turn them over.
The province’s NDP government introduced legislation last fall to restrict drug use in certain public areas, including playgrounds, but the law was quickly challenged by the Harm Reduction Nurses Association over concerns that it would drive more drug users to take their substances alone indoors, putting them at much greater risk of dying of an overdose.
An injunction against the legislation was granted in B.C. Supreme Court in December.
The updated Health Canada exemption announced Friday would appear to side-step that court challenge, while going much further than the provincial legislation in terms of restricting public drug use.
Eby said the government is also working to provide more treatment services “so people can stay alive and get better.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.