Why one researcher dubs drug decriminalization in B.C. an 'exciting', if flawed, experiment

With a number of drugs now decriminalized in B.C., researchers are waiting anxiously for the first pieces of data to roll in in hopes of understanding just how effective the policy is.

The province has become the first jurisdiction in Canada to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of certain illicit drugs for adults. While the efficacy of the policy has already been hotly debated, researchers like Lindsey Richardson are eager to uncover just how it might influence the well-being of users.

"It's a very exciting time because it's an experiment in Canada that we've never done before," said Richardson, an associate sociology professor at the University of British Columbia and researcher with the B.C. Centre on Substance Use.

"A lot of us in the research community are trying to make sure that we understand the impacts of decriminalization, and we are developing research to try to understand what's happening in the community, and what's happening to people who use drugs under this new system."

The system includes the legal possession of up to 2.5 grams of cocaine (crack and powder), methamphetamine, MDMA, opioids (including heroin, fentanyl and morphine) for people age 18 or above.

Critics note the limit might not be enough for many users, and that the policy doesn't address the toxic street drug supply that have killed thousands of people.

Richardson notes the policy isn't without its weaknesses, but hopes one main objective will be achieved: reducing both stigma and interactions with the justice system, which could ultimately lead to better health outcomes.

"When we criminalize people who use drugs, we produce interactions with the criminal justice system that have negative impacts, and so that includes the actual impact of being incarcerated, but there are also social and economic impacts," she said. "It can affect people's housing, their employment, their family, their health.

"The other thing that criminalization does is it stigmatizes people who use drugs," Richardson added.

"People might be more likely to use alone to hide their use, and we know that using alone is a significant risk factor for overdose. People also might be less willing to seek out treatment and care.

"The idea is that you will both reduce interactions with the criminal justice system and police, and you will hopefully reduce the stigma and discrimination that affects people's willingness to seek treatment."

Richardson points to Portugal, which began decriminalizing all drugs in 2000.

"[It] went from a country that had the highest level of overdose in Europe to a country with one of the lowest," she said. "We do know there is potential for real, material change that can result from this."

The province says data will be available to the public in the coming months, which will be shared on an online dashboard.

Richardson says her research focus in the coming months will look at how decriminalization might improve people's economic engagement and their social well-being, as well as their physical and mental health.

Unintended consequences

Dr. Perry Kendall, B.C.'s former provincial health officer, had long been calling for decriminalization along with other progressive drug policies like safe supply.

While also expressing cautious optimism over the policy, he expects it will likely take a year before any noticeable trends on its efficacy become apparent.

He also worries about unintended consequences that might emerge, particularly when it comes to enforcement about the limits.

"We do not want law enforcement equipped with scales to go around and measure everybody," he said. 

"That would be even more interference in the issue and I think do more harm than good."