Certain illegal drugs becoming decriminalized throughout BC starting January 31

MERRITT – Beginning January 31, certain illicit drugs will be decriminalized throughout the province.

“On January 31, 2023, adults 18 and over will no longer be subject to criminal charges for the personal possession of small amount of certain illegal drugs,” said Sgt Josh Roda with Merritt RCMP. “The exemption was granted by Health Canada.”

Roda explains the difference between decriminalized and illegal as there is a big difference with the exemption being put in place.

“The drugs are not legal. The Province of B.C. has been granted an exemption for small possession amounts, so you can’t open a drug store and start selling fentanyl out of your drug store, its an illegal drug. Essentially what they are trying to do is decriminalize users. So, drug dealing is still illegal, it’s legal to posses over 2.5 grams of any of these drugs and essentially if you are found dealing or possessing over the limit you can be arrested and charged.”

When it comes to the drugs covered under the exemption coming on January 31, they include:

• Opioids
  • Heroin
  • Morphine
  • Fentanyl
• Cocaine
  • Crack
  • Powder
• Methamphetamine
• MDMA (Ecstasy)

The amount of 2.5 grams can be hard to visualize but Roda said it is quite a lot.

“It can be upwards of 25 doses for an individual user. The amount probably would look somewhere around the size of a quarter to a Loonie, sometimes even a Toonie depending on the substance.”

With the exemption coming into effect, officials warn residents don’t have a lot of options on how to respond to seeing it on the streets.

“Unfortunately, the community needs to understand this will affect the way the police responds to these complaints and public areas,” said Roda. “Depending on the circumstances, we can’t be attending to what they are doing out in public, it is decriminalized, and it is not something as police we are allowed to respond to, tell them to stop, arrest them, or seize their drugs. However, if illegal drugs are being used on private property, including places like shopping malls, bars, cafes, etc., police do have legal authority to remove people from those premises under the authority of the Trespass Act if open drug use is occurring against the wishes of the owner.”

This decriminalization of certain illegal drugs will be in affect from January 31, 2023 to January 31, 2026.