Open Letter on Decriminalization and Safer Supply in BC

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Re: The BC provincial government ending the decriminalization of small amounts of illicit drugs and the curtailing of the safer supply program in the province

Dear Minister Osborne,

I am writing this letter on behalf of the New Westminster Homelessness Coalition, to highlight our concern with the recently announced decision to end British Columbia’s three year pilot project decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs, as well as the prior decision to curtail the safer supply program in the province. We believe that these decisions will harm individuals who use substances, including those who are unhoused, and will lead to a worsening of the toxic drug crisis in this province, while not contributing to making our communities safer.

Research and expert evidence clearly indicate that criminalizing substance users increases the stigma they face, acts as a barrier to accessing treatment, isolates substance users, thereby increasing the likelihood they will use alone and die due to drug toxicity, and makes recovery significantly more challenging, as securing housing and employment is far more difficult if the person doing so has a criminal record. The history of prohibition policies, drug law enforcement, and the so-called “war on drugs” is one that illustrates it as a failed policy that causes harm and undermines efforts to support those experiencing addiction and corresponding challenges like homelessness and poverty. To assume that these longstanding, failed policies will yield a different result than they have over the generations that they have been place seems to be misguided. There are many evidence-informed options for reducing public drug use, such as enhancing the availability of inhalation supervised consumptions sites, and investing in more low-barrier, harm reduction-informed supportive housing, thereby offering substance users an alternative to using outdoors, near businesses and other public spaces.

In addition to the end of the decriminalization pilot project, the government has also announced that they will be curtailing the safer supply program in the province, which was implemented to provide substance users with an alternative to relying on the highly toxic illicit drug supply that is killing thousands each year. The new requirement to have the ingestion of these drugs witnessed at pharmacies creates a barrier to accessing this service, which undermines its effectiveness. This change takes away the option of substance users to use how and when they need to, and requires many to repeatedly visit pharmacies through the course of a day, something that is unrealistic for those struggling with withdrawal, cravings, homelessness, mental health, and numerous other overlapping challenges. Early evidence shows that safer supply initiatives were working and that the limited diversion of these drugs could be prevented by simply improving the range of drugs available to substance users, in order to better match their needs, and thereby offer a true alternative to the toxic drug supply.

Decriminalizing substance users and providing them with alternatives to the toxic drug supply are both policies that support recovery, save lives and make communities safer. Pulling back on these policies will cause harm to substance users and other community members alike, it will increase government expenditures in both the health care and criminal justice systems, and it will inevitably lead to more tragic deaths.

This government’s policies enacting safer supply and decriminalization established it as a leader in innovative, evidence-informed responses to the toxic drug crisis. However, the government’s subsequent decisions to pull back on safer supply and end the decriminalization pilot are steps in the opposite direction. We strongly advocate for the government to reconsider these policy changes, and return to compassionate, evidence-informed policies concerning substance use and the toxic drug crisis.

Sincerely,
The New Westminster Homelessness Coalition Society

New West Advocacy Network – Letter template to advocate against the BC provincial government ending the decriminalization of small amounts of illicit drugs and the curtailing of the safer supply program in the province.