Advocates for people who use drugs decry B.C.'s proposed ban on public consumption

Advocates for British Columbians who use drugs are pushing back against the provincial government’s proposed ban on the public consumption of substances, arguing it doesn’t do anything to address the overdose crisis and will only cause more harm.

In response to safety concerns around B.C.’s decriminalization efforts, the province introduced new legislation Thursday that would make it illegal to use drugs in community spaces, including parks and beaches.

If passed, the law would “effectively recriminalize the most marginalized people who use drugs,” the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs said in a statement Thursday.

The province decriminalized the possession of a small amount of illicit drugs for personal use back in January, in an effort to address B.C.’s overdose crisis, which was declared a public health emergency in 2016.

Over seven years later, the UBCIC says “the NDP is prioritizing the comfort of the majority over the survival of (people who use drugs), rather than addressing the root causes of the crisis,” wrote the UBCIC, referring to the province’s governing party.

Under the ban, people would be prohibited from using drugs within a six-metre radius of bus stops and building entrances, as well as within 15 metres of playgrounds, spray or wading pools and skate parks.

Premier David Eby said the restrictions will “encourage people who use drugs to use safely at local overdose prevention sites,” which are overseen and managed by provincial health authorities, while maintaining safety in community spaces.

According to the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use, there were 35 federally sanctioned OPS locations across the province in 2021, but some have since been closed.

The Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users says B.C. urgently needs to open more, particularly ones with safe inhalation options, as the majority of toxic drug deaths recorded in recent years have happened after people inhale substances.

“For this (decriminalization) pilot to have any chance of success in reducing the harm of toxic drugs, the B.C. government must stand behind it with proper resources, not water it down and walk it back,” VANDU wrote in a statement Thursday.

The group also pushed back against the notion that people who use drugs pose a safety threat to their communities.

“By labelling users as a supposed danger to society, the B.C. NDP is sanctioning the further criminalization of people who use drugs,” said VANDU’s Vince Tao in the statement.

The legislation also sanctions “the displacement of the most marginalized members of our communities,” wrote the UBCIC.

“Many encampments – places where the unhoused create a semblance of stability – are within banned areas, such as parks and sidewalks, preventing people from using with others in their community and increasing the likelihood of fatal overdose,”reads the union’s statement. “Without housing or services, where should they go?”

In the most recent homeless count in Vancouver, 33 per cent of survey respondents identified as Indigenous, even though the demographic only accounts for two per cent of the city’s overall population.

That’s one example of why UBCIC says this proposed ban violated the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

“First Nations people are dying at 5.9 times the rate of other B.C. residents, and will be disproportionately harmed by this violent legislation. Despite this, the legislation was not co-developed with title and rights holders.”

Data by the BC Coroner Service shows First Nations people accounted for 15 per cent of all toxic drug deaths the province recorded between 2021 and 2022.

In 2023 so far, more than 1,600 British Columbians have died from toxic drug use.

Both VANDU and UBCIC are calling on the province to tackle crises, including housing, affordability, addiction and mental health, instead of restricting where drugs can be consumed.