Sask. ministers dub drug decriminalization 'a disaster' as B.C. seeks to roll back pilot

Saskatchewan's addictions and justice ministers say British Columbia's recent decision to roll back parts of its controversial drug decriminalization pilot is proof the strategy isn't a viable solution to either province's overdose crisis.

But the changes to the first-in-Canada project — which decriminalized personal possession of small amounts of some drugs for adults in most public and private spaces — haven't swayed some health researchers and drug policy reform advocates who say Saskatchewan should work to remove criminal penalties for simple possession.

On Friday, B.C. Premier David Eby announced his NDP government was requesting Health Canada amend the pilot to reinstate police powers to arrest people for simple possession and seize drugs in public spaces like parks, restaurants and hospitals.

Eby said police would be advised to avoid arresting people except in "extraordinary" cases, and that other jurisdictions seeking decriminalization — like Toronto — could learn from concerns around public drug use and safety in B.C.

Saskatchewan Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Tim McLeod said B.C. 's backtrack isn't entirely surprising, given the province's overdose death rate has increased and remained high since the three-year pilot began in January 2023.

"[Decriminalization] is certainly not something that our government was considering and it's not something that we're considering now," McLeod said in an interview Monday.

"I guess if British Columbia is coming to the conclusion that we were already at, good for them."

"It's been, frankly, something of a disaster," Saskatchewan Attorney General Bronwyn Eyre told a CBC reporter when asked at an unrelated media availability in Regina on Monday.

High numbers of overdose deaths have also persisted in Saskatchewan, where the Sask. Party government is pursuing a "recovery-oriented" approach that has seen it restrict funding for some harm reduction supplies, and focus spending on expanding detox, treatment and recovery services.

"That doesn't always mean 100 per cent abstinence, but it definitely means helping people get to a point where their lives aren't totally controlled by their drug use," said Rand Teed, a drug counsellor at ROSC Solutions Group, a private addiction consulting firm that advised the Saskatchewan government.

But a Sask. substance use expert and a harm reduction advocate say B.C. is using decriminalization as a "scapegoat" and that decriminalization could help save lives in Saskatchewan.

Decriminalization would make it easier for people to access harm reduction and treatment services without fear of arrest, free-up police resources and keep people out of jail, according to an expert report recommending decriminalization to the Regina and Saskatoon Police Boards in 2022.

However, it can't save lives when people don't have adequate housing or access to the services and supports they need, according to report co-author Barbara Fornssler.

"Going back to a criminalized model for substance use is just going to put us back where we were, which is in the midst of a crisis with very little hope and much more stigma," Fornssler, an assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan's school of public health, said Tuesday.