The chief of a B.C. municipal police force has issued an open letter criticizing British Columbia鈥檚 drug decriminalization policies as ineffective in the face of the ongoing overdose crisis.
Delta Chief Const. Neil Dubord says in the letter that while he agrees with 鈥渢he underlying principles of decriminalization,鈥� an early evaluation shows that the policy has not led to 鈥渢he desired outcome.鈥�
B.C. decriminalized the possession of small amounts of certain drugs such as heroin, fentanyl and cocaine starting in late January as part of a three-year pilot program.
Dubord says there were 791 overdose deaths in the province between then and May, which 鈥渃losely mirrors鈥� the 772 deaths recorded during the same period last year.
In a written statement, the B.C. Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions says it agrees with Dubord鈥檚 assessment that 鈥渁 whole-system approach鈥� is needed to deal with the toxic drug crisis.
But the statement also says 鈥渄ecriminalization is one critical way鈥� the province is tackling the problem 鈥渇rom every angle,鈥� and the government plans to spend $1 billion in its latest budget toward addressing addiction 鈥� including $586 million for 鈥渢reatment and recovery.鈥�
In his letter, Dubord cites a report in the Washington Post that describes Portugal as 鈥渉aving doubts鈥� about its own decriminalization policy, introduced in 2001 and widely cited as a success by policymakers worldwide.
The story describes locals attributing rising crime levels to a spike in the number of drug users.
Dubord says B.C. 鈥渃an learn from Portugal鈥檚 experiences.鈥�
鈥淭he pitfalls of inconsistent policy, lack of oversight and measurement of initiatives, systems working in silos and funding decisions pose risks to the desired objectives of the B.C. decriminalization pilot project,鈥� he says.
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