The City of Penticton in B.C.’s Okanagan is pressing forward with a proposed bylaw that would ban the consumption of illicit drugs in public places.
The move comes as the province embarks on a three-year experiment with the decriminalization of small quantities of certain illegal drugs, however the city’s mayor says the initiative has been in the works for more than a year.
Mayor Julius Bloomfield said the bylaw was motivated by growing public concerns with homelessness, mental health and addictions issues on the street. The city commissioned a community safety report last year which delivered 100 recommendations, and the bylaw is “borne out of that,” he said.
“This bylaw is about the regulation of illicit drugs along with the regulation of alcohol, tobacco, etc. in public spaces, defined as parks, streets, roads, and also private land where the public would normally be allowed to go such as the parking lot of a mall,” Bloomfield told Global News.
“Bylaw officers would have the power to go in and move these folks along, say, ‘Hey, you know what, what you are doing is now illegal. There are safe places, supervised consumption sites, where you can do what you are doing, but you’re not allowed to do that in a public place.'”
Bloomfield said he knows the bylaw will have its critics, but maintained that the purpose was not to be punitive, and rather to help direct people to safer places to use drugs and where they can access treatment resources.
“We accept that people do need to consume these drugs. Some people do,” he said. “And this is about the consumption of safe drugs in a supervised consumption site, and moving towards getting the treatment they need and deserve.”
Interior Health told Global News that Penticton currently has “a variety” of supervised consumption sites, including episodic overdose prevention service run by the health authority, as well as a mobile service operated by the Penticton Overdose Prevention Society.
The community also has supervised consumption supports at some shelter and supportive housing projects, it added.
However, the health authority said that while it understands community concerns about public drug use and the province’s new decriminalization measures, byalws like Penticton’s may have unintended consequences.
“Implementing blanket by-laws broadly that prohibit public consumption of illicit drugs and fining individuals who choose do so does not address the underlying causes related to addiction and may undermine the goals of decriminalization,” it said in a statement.
“Such enforcement activities may encourage individuals to use drugs alone or out of view, thereby increasing the risk of death due to the toxic drug supply.”
Penticton is not alone in exploring ways to limit where and when people can use illicit drugs under B.C.’s decriminalization regime.
Since the end of January, adults in the province have been able to carry up to 2.5 grams of opioids, cocaine, meth and ecstasy without fear of criminal penalty.
Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas has proposed a bylaw that would add playgrounds and areas around parks frequented by kids to the list of locations where drug possession is still banned.
Earlier this year, Campbell River passed, then withdrew, a pair of bylaws that would have banned public consumption of illicit drugs and imposed a fine of up to $200.
Those bylaws faced a court challenge from the Pivot Legal Society, which argued the proposal undermined the purpose of decriminalizing people who use drugs and could force them underground where they were at higher risk of a fatal overdose.
“Criminalizing public drug use will not stop people from using drugs—it will just make it more dangerous. In this way, the bylaws mimic the harms of criminalization and frustrate the aims of decriminalization,” the group said in a statement after the Campbell River bylaws were repealed.
Global News requested an interview with Pivot on Friday but was told no one was available.
BC Liberal mental health and addictions critic Elenore Sturko, however, said she wasn’t surprised that communities were exploring ways to address the effects of drug use.
Sturko accused the provincial government of doing “very little” to support municipalities amid decriminalization. She said successful decriminalization efforts, like the much-publicized regime in Portugal, have worked because they included strong accompanying regulations.
“They feel that in the absence of any action from this provincial government that they do have to take measures to protect members of the public form street disorder, from open drug use, criminality and just fear that the public has now in their communities,” Sturko said.
“When there are safe places to go like a supervised consumption site, as long as they’re going to be directing people towards resources, I think we’re going to be seeing more and more of that across the province.”
In a statement, B.C.’s Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions said it was working with the Union of B.C. Municipalities and public health officials to develop tools to support municipal governments in approaching substance use from a health perspective.
However, like Interior Health, it raised concerns that bylaw enforcement and ticketing could drive people to use drugs alone and potentially fatally overdose.
“In many cases, illegal drug use continues to be prohibited on private property, including places like shopping malls, bars and cafes. Police retain legal authority to remove people from these premises under the authority of the Trespass Act if open drug use is occurring against the wishes of the owner,” it said.
“Outside of private facilities, local governments have a range of regulatory tools that can address issues related to substance use and public disorder. Decriminalization will not change the ability of local governments to pass bylaws, however it is important that they consult their local Medical Health Officer and seek to balance the goals of public health and public safety when it comes to the issue of public consumption of legal and illegal substances.”
Public intoxication, it added, remains illegal in B.C.
Bloomfield said the proposed bylaw has already passed its first reading, and will now go out for community consultation before coming back to council for a second and third reading.
He estimated the process would take several weeks.