British Columbians will not be arrested or charged for possession of small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use for three years, as the government seeks to address an overdose crisis in the province.
B.C. has been struggling with a public health crisis in relation to overdose deaths and related harms since 2016, with close to 26,700 opioid toxicity deaths reported between January 2016 and September 2021. In November 2021, the province submitted to the federal government an exemption request to subsection 56(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to halt criminal charges against adults in the province in possession of small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use….