The chief of a municipal police force in Metro Vancouver has issued an open letter criticizing British Columbia’s drug decriminalization policies as ineffective in the face of the ongoing overdose crisis.
Delta Police Chief Const. Neil Dubord says in the letter that while he agrees with “the underlying principles of decriminalization,” an early evaluation shows that the policy has not led to “the desired outcome.”
B.C. decriminalized the possession of small amounts of certain drugs such as heroin, fentanyl and cocaine starting in late January as part of a three-year pilot program.
Dubord says there were 791 overdose deaths in the province between then and May, which “closely mirrors” the 772 deaths recorded during the same period last year….