The police chief of the municipality questions the effectiveness of the decriminalization of BC drugs
DELTA, BC — The chief of a Metro Vancouver municipal police force has published an open letter criticizing British Columbia’s drug decriminalization policies as ineffective in the face of the ongoing overdose crisis.
Delta Police Chief Neil Dubord says in the letter that while he agrees with “the underlying principles of decriminalization,” an early review shows that the policy has not produced “the desired outcome.”
BC decriminalized 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 county between then and May, which “closely matches” the 772 deaths recorded during the same period last year.
The Ministry of GGZ and Addiction did not immediately respond to the case.
Dubord also cites a Washington Post report describing Portugal as having “doubts” about its own decriminalization policy, introduced in 2001 and widely cited as a success by policymakers around the world.
The story describes how locals attribute the rising crime rate to a spike in drug use.
Dubord said BC “could learn from Portugal’s experience.”
“The pitfalls of inconsistent policies, lack of oversight and measurement of initiatives, systems operating in silos and funding decisions pose risks to the desired goals of the BC decriminalization pilot,” he said.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 17, 2023.
