'It wasn't working': Canada province ends drug decriminalizationListen to this articleA 2016 photo showing a mural in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, which remains an area home to drug usersVANCOUVER - Over 35 years as a drug user, Vancouver resident Garth Mullins said he's had "hundreds and hundreds" of interactions with police, and long believed drug decriminalization was smart policy. BC's three-year experiment with drug decriminalization, which launched in 2023 and shielded people from arrest for possession of up to 2.5 grams of hard drugs, was groundbreaking for Canada. At VANDU's office in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside neighborhood, home to many drug users, the walls are full of pictures honoring those who have died from overdose. - Public safety -BC's experience mirrors that in the US state of Oregon, which rolled back its pioneering drug decriminalization program in 2024 after a four-year trial. Drug user advocates, he added, don't want policy that makes the broader public feel threatened.

Source: Bangkok Post February 01, 2026 00:02 UTC