A 'monumental shift' in B.C. drug policy is coming. Here's what will happen.

In what senior government officials have called an historic moment for British Columbia and Canada, personal possession of up to 2.5 grams of certain illicit drugs will be formally decriminalized as of Jan.31.

The new laws are aimed at breaking down the barriers to healthcare supports and come into effect following the special three-year exemption granted by the federal government back in May.

Adults found in possession of a cumulative total of as much as 2.5 grams of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA for personal use will no longer be arrested, charged or have their drugs seized.

“As we know, there is no recovery for someone who is dead,” federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Carolyn Bennett said at media briefing in Vancouver. She called the move a ‘monumental shift’ in drug policy “…that favours fostering trusting and supportive relationships in health and social services over further criminalization.”

Bennett said the legal exemption would reduce the stigma, fear and shame that keep people who use drugs silent about their use, or using alone, and will help people access lifesaving supports.

Instead of arrest, or fines and the confiscation of the drugs, police in BC, most of whom have now received special training on the matter, will offer information on available health and social supports, as well as local treatment and recovery options.

“Instead of being treated as criminals, they will be treated with care and compassion,” Jennifer Whiteside, B.C.'s Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, said. “Decriminalizing people who use drugs is a critical step in tackling the toxic drug crises,” she said, noting it will lead to more people seeking help.

“Substance use is a public health matter not a criminal justice one.”

There are exceptions to the new, three-year exemption that runs to Jan.31, 2026. Drug possession in any amount will continue to be a criminal offence on K-12 school grounds and at licensed childcare facilities. Also, decriminalization does not apply to youth 17 and younger.

For BC’s public health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, who wrote a report back in 2019 calling for decriminalization, this is a crucial step in ending unnecessary interactions with police and to ‘humanize and support’ people who use drugs “… because they are our family, our friends, our neighbours.

“The stigma and shame around using drugs often means people don’t reach out to their friends, or their family or their health professionals,” Henry said. “It drives people to hide their addictions, to use alone, and in the environment we’re in right now that means many people are dying.”

BC’s toxic drug crisis has led to twice the number of deaths than the national average. Over 11,000 people have died since the start of the public health emergency which was declared in 2016.

Fiona Wilson, the vice president of the BC Association of Police Chiefs said around two-thirds of police officers had been trained in offering supports and info to the public ahead of the Jan.31 exemption start. She also acknowledged there has been ‘de facto decriminalization’ regarding simple possession for many years now in many cities in the province and this was a formalization of that approach.

“It recognizes that substance use is health not a police matter,” she said. “Police can now focus on those doing the most harm in this crisis: persons and organized crime groups that import , manufacture and distribute these toxic substances.”