Critics see drug debate tainted by politicization in B.C. election campaign

When NDP Leader David Eby announced this month that the province would open "secure facilities" to provide involuntary care for people with severe drug addiction or mental health problems, it represented a moment of policy unity with the rival B.C. Conservatives ahead of the fall election.

When NDP Leader David Eby announced this month that the province would open "secure facilities" to provide involuntary care for people with severe drug addiction or mental health problems, it represented a moment of policy unity with the rival B.C. Conservatives ahead of the fall election.

But for drug policy advocate DJ Larkin, the consensus was loaded with irony — since the province currently isn't able to supply enough beds even for those who want treatment, let alone those who don't.

"This shift toward involuntary treatment is a knee-jerk reaction," Larkin, who's the executive director with the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, said in an interview. "It is quite obviously a political move to try to create a simple solution to a problem that requires multiple interventions."

With more than 15,000 lives lost to toxic drugs since the declaration of a public health emergency in B.C. in 2016, the province has been at the cutting edge of debate, science and policy about how to deal with the crisis.

Critics, including Larkin, say the issue itself has been tainted by politicization.

BC Green Leader Sonia Furstenau has accused the major parties of using "dehumanizing rhetoric" against drug users, while former chief coroner Lisa Lapointe has called plans for involuntary treatment unrealistic and lacking scientific justification.

Advocacy group Moms Stop the Harm has branded the NDP government's rollback of a drug decriminalization project as "ludicrous," while others say drug users are being scapegoated.