Should Manitoba follow B.C.’s lead and decriminalize drugs for a period of time? Experts are weighing in.
Police departments across the country have their eyes on B.C., as the province gears up to decriminalize the possession of some drugs for personal use.
However, in Manitoba experts think it’s important to wait and see how the pilot program in B.C. goes before making any decisions.
“I think it important to do it right, I think B.C. is at the forefront of a lot of the issues that have been going around,” said Chief Danny Smyth, Winnipeg Police Service.
“I think they are well positioned to test this and learn from the experience.”
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Drug addiction and harm reduction are complex issues and jurisdictions shouldn’t jump on the idea of decriminalization without thinking things through, said Smyth.
Smyth thinks it’s important to take a more measured and phased-in approach.
Death rates due to overdoses continue to climb in Manitoba. The number of people who died from drug overdoses surpassed 400 last year and there are renewed calls for more to be done to curb the deadly trend.
Preliminary data provided to The Canadian Press from the chief medical examiner’s office shows there were 407 drug-related deaths in 2021 – more than double the historical average of 200.
Arlene Last-Kolb co-founded the group Overdose Awareness Manitoba after her son’s death. She is also a member of the national advocacy group Moms Stop The Harm.
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Each year, Last-Kolb said, her heart breaks as more families lose loved ones to preventable overdose deaths. She said the numbers will continue to grow until Manitoba starts looking at harm reduction, including supervised consumption sites and a safe supply of drugs.
Presently, Manitoba does not have a safe consumption site.
In the city’s North End neighbourhood, members of the Bear Clan Patrol picked up 11,000 needles between September and December this year, according to executive director Kevin Walker.
However, in May, the Manitoba government said it would not follow British Columbia’s lead in decriminalizing possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use.
Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen said the province is focused on cutting off the illicit drug supply while offering addiction treatment for users.
The opposition New Democrats said the government should study the impact of the change in British Columbia before making up its mind, while also saying a more immediate priority is to build a safe consumption site.
— With files from The Canadian Press