B.C.'s move to decriminalize simple drug possession monitored in the Maritimes

British Columbia’s landmark move to decriminalize simple possession of illicit drugs is getting plenty of attention from harm reduction specialists on Canada’s east coast, where reports of drug overdoses are on a steady rise.

Diane Kerns is the harm reduction coordinator at Avenue B in Saint John, N.B., and says B.C.’s move is a step in the right direction.

“But it’s not going to change a thing with regard to people dying for all the toxic substances in our drug supply,” says Kerns.

“We need to be moving toward safe supply. We’re allowing these poisonous substances to be sold to our citizens on the street who are living with a health condition, who are being treated like criminals.”

Kerns says the combination of decriminalization and a regulated drug supply would help free up resources for police and the legal system.

“But most importantly, people would not be dying on the street,” says Kerns.

“We’ll always have drugs on the street. But I think we’d see a huge reduction in those drugs on the street if we were supplying a safe supply to people who have been addicted, living with substance use disorder.”

“We’ve had this war on drugs, this criminal approach for so long that it’s beaten into our heads that we can’t make that jump. So I think we need to be able to do the education to say this is a health condition, this is a health issue. It’s not a court issue, it’s not a, ‘Let’s throw people in jail’ issue.”

Kerns says the idea of harm reduction is a difficult concept for many to grasp or accept.

“But you know, the more people you see die, and the greater the understanding, I think we just need to be gentle in approach.”

The Saint John Police Force says there’s been a 30 per cent increase in medical-related overdose calls in the first four month of 2022 compared to the same time period in 2021.

In April, the city’s police issued a warning about carfentanil, an opioid drug meant to immobilize large animals, potentially circulating in the community.

'TESTING THE WATERS'

British Columbia made an application to the federal government to be exempt from Canada’s drug laws for a three-year period beginning Jan. 31, 2023.

“This time limited exemption is the first of its kind in Canada and with it comes great responsibility,” says Carolyn Bennett, the federal minister of mental health and addictions.

The City of Toronto has made a similar exemption request.

Provincial governments across the Maritimes didn’t indicate any immediate plans to make a similar application on Wednesday.

“I’m interested to hear what B.C. has done but I can’t give you much more than that because I don’t know how far down the road we’ve looked at,” says New Brunswick Health Minister Dorothy Shephard.

“But what I can say is harm reduction has been a strategy of (New Brunswick) mental health and addictions for some time now.”

Nova Scotia’s Department of Health and Wellness and Prince Edward Island’s Department of Health both say it will monitor the results of British Columbia’s change.

“They’re testing the waters to see if the public response is positive, negative, neutral,” says Kerns.