BC United MLA calls for audit into possible Drug User Liberation Front federal funding

A BC United MLA is calling for an audit of the federal money that may have funded the Drug User Liberation Front (DULF) in Vancouver and its illegal compassion club program.

For over a year, the advocacy group said it was buying illicit drugs off the dark web and testing them for purity before giving them out to a group of people in order to prove it could reduce overdoses and deaths.

South Surrey MLA Elenore Sturko says she wants to make sure public funds were not used to support illegal activity and tells CityNews she sent a letter to Canada’s federal addictions minister on Wednesday morning.

“Just because we’re in the midst of a crisis doesn’t mean that we have to suddenly throw away the rule of law in British Columbia,” she said. “Regardless of whether the money was directly transitioned into cryptocurrency to purchase those drugs, or whether they used the government’s money to simply prop up their operations — it doesn’t matter. They were supporting an organization that bought illicit drugs, which puts money and potentially firearms into the hands of organized criminals.”

However, drug policy and harm reduction experts say she’s politicizing the toxic drug crisis, which is killing an average of six people in B.C. every day.

Canadian Drug Policy Coalition Executive Director DJ Larkin says DULF did everything it could to operate its compassion club legally.

“Frankly, it is upsetting and disingenuous to see a letter being sent to a federal minister under the guise of trying to protect the safety of communities,” they said.

“It is deeply concerning when a politician continues to reiterate statements of which there is no evidence, like the statements that are being made about the compassion club presently.”

Sturko says she doesn’t believe her comments politicize the issue.

“It’s not that we are against helping people and getting them into stabilizing medication … but what we are saying when we raise these questions — which is my duty by the way as critic for mental health and addictions — is that when we see signs of unintended consequences.”

Meanwhile, Larkin suggests Sturko should be raising different questions.

“The law and policy is so entrenched and so dangerous that our governments are not taking the action that is needed. If someone who is a member of the opposition wanted to be acting to call that into question, why aren’t you rapidly expanding safe supply? Why aren’t you moving towards non-prescription models? Why aren’t you saving lives today?” they asked.