How is B.C. tackling the drug crisis?

2024 will mark eight years since B.C. declared a public health emergency over the drug crisis.

Since April 2016, over 13,000 lives have been lost to the toxic, unregulated drug supply in the province.

Advocates have and continue to push for action to address the crisis, with B.C. going into its second year of its decriminalization pilot project. But what will 2024 bring?

“I think that toxic drug deaths and the overdose crisis, the public health crisis, is probably one of the most challenging issues government faces — and that’s nothing compared to the challenge faced by families and the grief faced by families for their loved ones,” Premier David Eby told CityNews and OMNI News in a one-on-one interview Monday.

Eby has said regulating hard drugs in B.C. isn’t a step his government will be taking to tackling the toxic drug crisis.

However, he points to measures, including the decriminalization pilot project, that his NDP government is taking to try to change the tide on drug deaths.

“When somebody is using drugs that they get in the mail or from someone on the street, and dying of an overdose – this is a profoundly challenging area. So what we’re trying to do is find a balance, where we give people the opportunity to get into treatment by saying, ‘You’re not a criminal. We’re not going to arrest you and put you in jail for having the drugs you’re addicted to. You can get them tested, you can come in and talk to a nurse or a doctor, and trying to, where we can, get a doctor in between the predatory drug dealer and person struggling with addiction.

“The whole goal of it is to keep people alive and get them into treatment,” Eby said of the decriminalization pilot project.

Throughout the program period — Jan. 31, 2023, to Jan. 31, 2026 — people aged 18 and up won’t be arrested or charged if they are in possession of up to 2.5 grams of illicit substances, including cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA, and opioids such as heroin, fentanyl, and morphine. The drugs also will not be seized.

In addition to the pilot, the province has also announced a slew of mental health and addictions measures, to support those who are struggling with substance abuse.

But what about those who don’t have substance-use disorders, and who can’t get access to medicalized safe supply?

Eby points to testing and public education.

“People who are using drugs that they ordered online or they bought on the street, they’re taking a chance every time. And so there is no way to provide 100 per cent protection to people who are making those decisions, except to say, ‘please, don’t.’ If you do, get your drugs tested, there are places where you can get your drugs tested in British Columbia, if you decide to make that decision. These drugs are incredibly addictive, please don’t start down that path,” the premier said.

However, he’s clear on what his government will not do, saying, “I don’t believe the answer is that government opens up distribution centres for these drugs.

“I just think that’s not right.”

The BC Coroners Service has repeatedly pointed out that because of stigma around drug use, many people consume illicit substances and die alone.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has also stressed this point, saying decriminalization is meant to “remove that label” from drug users to promote safer use and to save lives.

However, with drug deaths still at record levels, many have questioned whether there is enough access to safer supply, with some continuing to push for expanded measures.

The Coroners Services’ recommendations released in October 2023 urged the government to increase access to safer supply programs outside of the health-care system.

The province has also been slammed by advocates over legislation that limits public consumption of illegal substances. Just last month, the BC Supreme Court imposed a temporary injunction on those laws until March 31, with the judge in the case brought forward by the Harm Reduction Nurses Association saying “irreparable harm will be caused” if the laws came into force.

The Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act was passed by the legislature in November 2023, allowing fines and imprisonment for people who refuse to comply with police orders not to consume drugs in certain public places, including parks, beaches, and sports fields.

The nurses association argued the act, which has yet to come into effect, would violate the Canadian charter in various ways if enforced.