Daphne Bramham: Vancouver-driven drug decriminalization has many B.C. communities fearing the worst

When municipalities like Penticton, Kelowna and Campbell River push back against provincial drug policies, it’s a reminder that British Columbia is an outlier.

It is the only province in Canada experimenting with decriminalization of small amounts of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA for personal use. And it may be the only jurisdiction where decriminalization is not part of a comprehensive and funded plan to curb consumption and treat addiction.

Portugal was the first to drop criminal sanctions for possessing small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use more than 20 years ago. Since then, it has gone from having the highest incidence of drug use in Europe to among the lowest.

But what decriminalization proponents often neglect to mention is something that the architect of Portugal’s plan, João Goulão, repeatedly says.

Decriminalization isn’t a panacea. It is only one way to help connect drug users with a fully funded menu of services ranging from counselling to multi-year residential treatment, on the recommendation of experts at the commission for the dissuasion of drug use.