"Step in the right direction": Experts on what BC's drug decriminalization means

The possession of small amounts of some controlled drugs will be decriminalized in BC starting January 31. Do you know what that means for you and your community?

Daily Hive reached out to Dr. Lindsey Richardson, an associate professor at the UBC Department of Sociology and a research scientist at the BC Centre on Substance Use, to hear her thoughts on what it could mean for BC.

“Decriminalization has the potential to have a huge impact on people’s lives,” said Richardson. “It prevents them from entering the criminal justice system, which has potentially transformative benefits for education, employment, housing, family, and health.”

As of Jan. 31, 2023, adults aged 18+ in BC who possess 2.5g or less of certain illegal drugs for personal use will not face criminal charges. BC will be the 1st province to take this step to treat addiction as a health issue, not a criminal justice one. https://t.co/jAa8Ehmcqt pic.twitter.com/0yMqnvvp6k

— BC Government News (@BCGovNews) January 26, 2023

How does decriminalization affect drug users?

Richardson notes that the impacts of decriminalization will be different for folks based on various factors, including what substances they use, how much they use, what their access to resources is like, and what their drug purchasing patterns are.

“For example, for someone who uses MDMA on a limited basis, [decriminalization] might relieve any stress they felt walking around with drugs in their possession, knowing that being found with drugs on them will not result in a criminal charge,” said Richardson.

“Someone who ordinarily might use alone, which we know significantly increases the risk of overdose, might feel more inclined to use with other people,” noted Richardson.

But the new decriminalization rules won’t help all drug users.

“For someone who uses opioids frequently who is socioeconomically disadvantaged and ordinarily buys their drugs in bulk, this change may not address many of the challenges they face.”

“They will still need to source sufficient amounts of drugs, and they may now feel like they cannot buy in bulk to keep within the 2.5-gram limit, so their drug use may become more expensive.”

Will we see more drug paraphernalia in parks now?

“It’s important to note that in other jurisdictions that have implemented decriminalization, like Portugal and Oregon, there hasn’t been a lot of reported increases of this kind,” said Richardson, who said even before decriminalization, drug use in public and the existence of paraphernalia were already common.

“Research was done when similar concerns were expressed around the opening of InSite, and people thought it would increase paraphernalia on streets and in parks. The research didn’t show an increase,” she said.

“However, this is a different kind of change, and its impacts may be hard to predict,” she said.

Do you anticipate fewer or more drug-related hospital visits?

“Decriminalization doesn’t change anything about the currently toxic drug supply and may not impact the risk of overdose or other adverse drug effects in beneficial ways,” said Richardson.

“In this sense, I don’t anticipate a decrease in drug-related hospital visits. In some ways, it may increase the risk of non-fatal and fatal overdose, because drug producers may be seeking to fit as much active substance into the 2.5-gram limit, which may increase the potency of drugs and the likelihood of drug-related hospital visits related to adverse reactions or overdose.

Is this a step in the right direction? Is there more work to do?

BC will formally request federal exemption to decriminalize personal possession of drugs to remove the shame that often prevents people from reaching out for help.

This is aligned with calls from public health experts and police chiefs across the country.https://t.co/jscHbmqHB2

— John Horgan (@jjhorgan) April 14, 2021

“The provincial exemption is an important policy change and hopefully marks a new, evidence-based approach to drug policy,” said Richardson.

“This is a step in the right direction, but I have significant concerns about how this will be implemented, the potential for unintended impacts from the change, and other important actions that should be taken, but may be overlooked.”

For example, Richardson notes that benzodiazepines are not being decriminalized, but that they’re present in the opioid supply.

“How will things be managed when decriminalized and criminalized drugs are mixed together? And how will the police know?” she said.

Also, the current decriminalization model doesn’t do much for drug users who are

• at the highest risk of overdose
• and/or socioeconomically disadvantaged

“I’m also concerned with how this will be implemented,” said Richardson.

“Police still have the discretion to stop and seize — this means populations that are already over-policed will continue to be so: lower-income people, people of colour, and Indigenous people.”

“So the impacts of decriminalization may increase inequity, rather than decrease it.”

Another expert, Dr. Jason Hein, a chemistry professor at UBC, agrees that BC’s decriminalization is a step in the right direction.

“For people suffering from addiction, removing some of the stigma and uncertainty with access to these compounds allows us to help deal with the core issues more easily.”

“The next bigger challenge becomes securing a safe supply.”

Why do we need a safe supply?

“Many of the overdoses and secondary drug-related deaths we are seeing come from people lacking information,” said Hein.

According to the BC Coroners Service, illicit drugs have caused the deaths of at least 1,827 British Columbians in the first 10 months of 2022 alone,  and the increased toxicity and variability of the illicit drug supply is among the leading factors for the nearly 5.8 deaths a day in the province.

“They do not know how strong the drug they get is and don’t know what else someone might have added to the drugs they are acquiring,” Hein said.

That’s why he’s working with researchers at UBC on new drug-checking technology specially designed to be more accurate and reduce barriers.

“This is where my group is trying to help by providing tools to catch tainted supplies and allow users to make better decisions,” said Hein.

Our skills demystifying reactions and quantifying impurities are now being put to use helping our local BC community. A new project lead by Sara Guzman is looking at new technology created by @AxcendCorp to help in harm reduction. @UBCChem https://t.co/p8PAa7uDKu

— Jason Hein (@procrastiprof) January 25, 2023

“Getting this knowledge out there can dramatically help the growing overdose crisis, but it’s only a bandaid without addressing the supply issues longer term.”

Richardson agrees and says that decriminalization is one of many policy changes that should be made to address the drug poisoning crisis.

“The expansion of access to safe drugs, addressing the social and economic drivers of drug-related harm and developing a comprehensive, accessible, and culturally appropriate system of treatment and care will all be needed to effectively reduce drug poisoning,” she said.

What are your thoughts on decriminalization in BC? Let us know in the comments.