The Province of BC is looking to decriminalize the personal possession of drugs, and has submitted their application to Health Canada.
But Prince George RCMP Superintendent Shaun Wright believes this is the wrong approach if other supports aren’t put into place.
“I think that is just going to make these issues of social disorder increase exponentially, is my personal opinion. And I think the manner in which it’s proposed is a terrible idea.”
“I believe it’s four and a half grams of fentanyl is what’s been proposed that anybody can walk around with, and that’s enough to kill many people, so I don’t know why any government would propose that that’s a good idea,” added Wright.
The decriminalization submission lists the thresholds the government is looking for, noting that these numbers reflect actual patterns of use and possession:
- 4.5 grams of fentanyl
- 3.25 grams of heroin
- 4 grams of cocaine
- 4 grams of crack
- 10 grams of methamphetamine
Wright said that this is an issue that all levels of government will need to step up for.
“Different levels of government need to take some responsibility. Local government here has endorsed the decriminalization as well. So, I think there needs to be some responsibility, so what policies are you bringing in to deal with what the spinoff activity as a result of that change would be?”
He added that this will definitely lead to more of the same kind of activity seen in the Millar Addition that residents have been concerned about.
“There doesn’t appear to me to be any sort of holistic strategy by any level of government to deal with that.”
Wright mentioned the Four Pillars drug strategy that has been used by the City of Vancouver, noting that it’s been a strategy that’s been talked about a lot.
“To be honest the only pillar I’ve seen implemented in any real fashion in this province is Harm Reduction. So without the Four Pillars in proper proportion I think it’s destined for failure, and has done nothing but perpetuate drug use.”
“I believe it’s been about four years now since the overdose crisis was announced, and the numbers go up every year. So, I don’t know about you, but if I do the same thing for four years and it continues to increase, and I want something to decrease, I start to think maybe I need to change my approach,” added Wright.
The Four Pillars Strategy looks at prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and enforcement as ways to approach drug addiction.
Wright noted that education needs to be placed on the front end, and there needs to be more effort put into treatment.
Health Canada is seriously looking at BC’s submission, but is considering lowering the allowable drugs threshold to half of what’s being requested.
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