A recent motion by Mayor George Harvie, endorsed by Delta council, will see Police Chief Neil Dubord and Delta Police Board chair Ian Tate appear at an upcoming meeting to discuss the latest regarding drug decriminalization in B.C.
“I think it’s very important that we have both the police board and council discuss and hopefully make a common recommendation to the prime minister and to the premier and to other appropriate ministers,” said Harvie.
Ottawa recently granted B.C.’s request to scale-back parts of the province’s pilot decriminalization of possessing small amounts of hard drugs by recriminalizing public drug use.
According to the province, when police are called to a scene where illegal and dangerous drug use is taking place, they will have the ability to compel the person to leave the area, seize the drugs when necessary or arrest the person, if required.
The change would not recriminalize drug possession in a private residence or place where someone is legally sheltering, or at overdose prevention sites and drug checking locations.
On Jan. 31, 2023, B.C. launched its three-year pilot drug decriminalization initiative, with the objective of reducing the stigma and isolation that prevents individuals from seeking help.
A report by members of the Delta Police Department, including Dubord, outlined several insights and recommendations for integrating decriminalization into a holistic human services system.
The system needs to provide comprehensive care, ranging from prevention and immediate access to detox and treatment, as well as sustained recovery and support services, the report states.
The report also notes that an estimated 68,000 youth between the ages of 15 and 24 meet the criteria for a substance use disorder, yet B.C. has only 24 publicly funded treatment beds for youth. Similarly, while more than 100,000 adults in B.C. are diagnosed with opioid use disorders, there are only 3,277 publicly funded treatment beds available, highlighting a significant gap between the need for resources and what is available.
“When individuals reach out for help, the unfortunate reality is that help often may not be immediately available, resulting in the individual being placed on a waitlist, unless they can afford extremely expensive private treatment,” the report says.
The report also notes, “Before embarking on any expansion of services and resources, it is imperative to conduct a thorough evaluation of the existing infrastructure, establish a common outcome measurement framework applicable to all organizations providing services in this domain, identify the return on the investment, and commit to evidence-based approaches.”
According to the latest data from the BC Coroners Service, toxic drugs claimed the lives of at least 192 people this March, and at least 572 lives in the first three months of 2024.
The data reflects an 11 per cent decrease in the number of lives lost when compared with March 2023. In March 2024, 6.2 deaths per day were tied to the unregulated drug supply.
