It was an experiment that went wrong … terribly wrong, after the BC NDP government one year ago decriminalized possession and use of small amounts of hard drugs.
The results: increased open hard drug use in several BC urban communities, not less; more opioid drug deaths, not less; more urban streets/parks, needle/social decay problems, not less; more drugged-up crazies wandering the streets scaring/threatening passersby; more retail thefts, vandalism, and more actual acts of violence in commercial, residential and even recreational areas, not less.
The NDP’s pandering to the druggies created urban communities in BC where many people feared to tread outside their homes, unless accompanied by others.
It not only destroyed Vancouver’s Granville Street as a shopping, dining, entertainment hub, but also led to increased crime/violent attacks/even murder on neighbouring streets/areas as well.
Other cities across BC experienced similar increases in open hard drug use, and also suffered from increases in thefts, drug-crazed public safety incidents and frightening unprovoked violent attacks against citizens, who were just going about their business.
The Vancouver-based media (I do not do detailed monitoring of media from other parts of the province) have been very soft on the NDP government, but I believe one day historians will agree with what I have written repeatedly on the blog … that the “bleeding heart” policies/actions/ideological blindness of the current NDP provincial government, aided and abetted in Vancouver’s case by the former extreme left City Council, did terrible damage to the social fabric/safety/economy of the city … and probably, many other BC urban communities have endured similar problems as well as a result of the NDP’s open “drug use is okay” policies.
Something had to give!
The final straw? The revelation, through a leaked memo to the BC United Opposition, that under the NDP-introduced policy , open hard drug use was even being allowed by patients in BC hospitals … potentially increasing problems/safety of other already-vulnerable and stressed out patients, staff and visitors.
Open hard drug use in hospitals … okay under the NDP!!!
When that was revealed, the government’s response? A promise to hire 320 more Security Officers to work in health facilities!
Geez!!
Last Friday, though, in the face of growing public angst/anger/fear and community, business and hospital staff open concerns/complaints … and maybe even our rants on this blog … the NDP government too had enough!
Premier David Eby announced that BC would backtrack and re-criminalize once more the use of drugs in public spaces.
“The province has made an urgent request to Health Canada to make amendments to B.C.’s exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to give police the power to step in when they see illicit drug use in public spaces, including inside hospitals, on transit and in parks,” The Vancouver Sun reported.
(The province had tried to specifically ban drug use from parks and playgrounds etc before, but a challenge by druggie supporters/advocates tied that up in Court … possibly for years. The Health Canada approach apparently will circumvent that and expedite the ban.)
It was the right move.
Possession/use of small amounts of drugs in private or sanctioned indoor locations will remain decriminalized.
And let’s keep it real: police will not likely be wholesale arresting people toking up as they walk down the street or even those using hard drugs in alleyways or other discreet outdoor locations, but at least the change could stop the open shooting up on sidewalks, in store doorways, in parks or even playgrounds, as had become so prevalent.
“Premier David Eby said during a news conference Friday that police need tools to address extraordinary circumstances where people are compromising public safety through their drug use,” The Sun said.
You can read the full Sun story here: https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/bc-asks-health-canada-to-make-drug-use-in-public-illegal-again.
The province’s move is a good start to taking back our streets, parks, beaches and playgrounds … so the majority of the population can enjoy them, without feeling unsafe or worried that there’s a good chance their kids could be exposed to used needles laying somewhere nearby on the pavement, on the ground, in the grass or in the sand.
This does not mean that most British Columbians are not sympathetic or not concerned about hard drug users suffering from their affliction.
There should also be a major increase in funding for treatment programs and facilities to get off drugs those who want help to do so … but now can’t find it.
And the province and the federal government should also change the laws to force the judges too, in our current “injustice” system, to keep repeat drug dealers, violent offenders and multi-conviction recidivist thieves in custody for more than a few hours.
Then … and only then … can the reclaiming of BC cities’ core areas begin, to restore them to people places, where shoppers, diners and families can return … day or night … without the fear of facing danger.
And re-criminalizing open use of drugs in public places was a good start … if police, Crown Counsels and BC’s Judges also do their jobs!
Harv Oberfeld
(Follow @harveyoberfeld on “X” for FREE First Alerts to new postings on this Blog.)
The decriminalization of drugs was fine. No support systems wasn’t. Decriminalization can work but it needs support and a lot of it and that is expensive. There is the lack of support for families who have members who become addicted. The drug problem in Vancouver has always been there, but back in the day it was heroin and most of it was “clean”. Then of course things changed in the 1960s when LSD hit the market.
There would have been a time for government to step in and deal with the drug issues but nothing happened. People went to jail, people made a fortune as dealers, gangs formed to maximise profits, etc. By the time Christy Clark was Premier, the Chief medical officer of B.C. announced drugs to be an extreme problem. Was anything done in B.C.–Not so much. At least in Alberta they banned pill presses. Nothing worked, nothing changed. Eby took a plunge and at least it was an effort. It failed also because there were not supports for the changes. The stealing to support drug habits increased and became more violent and judges simply put them back on the street. There is something wrong when people have a dozen charges or more for stealing and assaults and they’re walking around the streets and repeating their actions.
Eby has at least changed the law again but it won’t change much. There is so much money to be made from drugs, it is part of the B.C. economy and also other places in North America. Dealing with the drug and crime issue is going to be expensive. How expensive? Expensive so that taxes would have to be raised. What taxes raised, no way. the problems will continue.
Putting all those charged and convicted in jail, would require more jails and staff and none of that comes cheap. Support and health care to deal with the addiction, expensive and there is a lack of professionals to deal with it. And no one wants an increase in taxes.
The program for “shelter first” was a great idea, it was the execution of the plan which was a miss. People were placed in rooming houses which reminded me of pictures from the 1800 tenements in London and New York. No support, dirt, assaults, etc. Made money for the slum lords though.
The problem is people/voters/taxpayers don’t care enough until it effects them personally.
As with most things, you can pay now or you can pay later. We didn’t pay when things started to go sideways and now we have to pay later but it won’t be in money. It will be in violence, deaths.
(Response Raising taxes is a no-go for British Columbians. Many now can hardly afford to feed themselves and their families now after paying their rents, food banks can’t keep up with the need. So I believe it would be a losing proposition to even suggest raising taxes even more for drug programs. Decriminalization of drug use still has public support …but using in public (streets, doorways, parks, beaches) does not. h.o)
The wealth in this province is staggering. Its just not in the hands of working people. Yes, we do have a lot of people who are barely making it and the group shelters are really seeing an increase in the over 50 crowd. Some as old as 80. They don’t have enough money to pay rent and food. then there is the problem of dementia.
The news reported a poverty report gave B.C. a D plus, the Praires all D minus. Quebec got a C plus. Of course Quebec has higher taxes so their government is in a better position to deal with poverty. now if Quebec can organize their province why can’t other provinces. Perhaps Quebec could send a few of their staffers around the country to demonstrate how its done. This poverty we have in B.C. and other places in Canada is costing us a bomb as it is. Dealing with it will be expensive, but once it has been dealt with things will be a lot less expensive. We do more for abused dogs, cats, cows, pigs than we do for humans and letting people live in poverty, is a form of abuse which has life time effects on children.
Every time business has to pay more wages to workers they whine and snivel how they’ll go out of business, if there is a change, they want government to pay for it and they frequently do. when kids need their parents to have higher incomes or they need better schools, more teachers, shrinks, etc. oh, there isn’t enough money and we can’t raise taxes. When we look at some European countries and their social programs, well in those countries they pay more in taxes than we ever will and corporations sometimes even have to pay up. We have money for this FIFA stuff, under ground tunnels, new highways, well no one ever really died from sitting in traffic for an extra half hr or so, but people do die earlier due to poor health care, lack of adequate food, you know the list.
As to the high cost of housing, we got what we wanted. when the prices started to go up and front lawn bidding wars were held on front lawns, people were ever so pleased–they were getting their version of rich. People who cashed out of the lower mainland went to the interior and bought less expensive homes and pput the rest in the bank and all was good. Then prices got so high their kids and grandkids couldn’t afford to buy and rents became so high people couldn’t afford that either. Governments didn’t think ahead and build affordable, supportive, senior, or family housing which citizens could afford. When the feds canned the co-op program, there went the last chance for affordable housing for people. Then of course over the decades the federal government sold off land and housing. At one time the Kits area had veterans apartments, fed. government sold it all. They could really have used it about now. B.C. sold Little Mountain housing and what do we have now–nothing they announced they would build, but really? Its not going to be affordable enough for those poorly or under houses. Densification to create more housing in urban centers, lovely idea, but in areas in Vancouver all we are going to see is densification and very expensive homes. Doubt in 30 years we will not be any further ahead than we are now, except corporations profits will still be rising and people may well be living as they were prior to WW II.
There is too much need for affordable and supportive housing that governments will be able to catch up in the next 20 years. Yes, I do plan to be around for that.
(Response: I wish politicians would tell us the truth. As I wrote in an earlier blog, with such high land costs today, construction costs, financing, permitting costs, design costs and inspection delays the goal of “affordable” housing for modest or middle income British Columbians, especially in Vancouver or Victoria is a joke … and a sad one too. And without a huge investment in new health treatment facilities the idea of seriously reducing hard drug use/damage will never happen! Re-criminalizing public drug use will make our streets and parks more public-friendly …but not solve the problem. h.o)