The City of Nelson has become the latest municipality in British Columbia to pass bylaws aimed at restricting the use of illicit drugs in public places.
City council narrowly approved the new bylaw Tuesday, banning the use of illicit drugs in 12 public areas, including five parks.
Councillors backing the initiative argued the move was necessary to ensure Nelson residents feel safe and comfortable in their neighbourhoods.
Those opposed said they worried it would not be effective, and wasn’t supported by additional harm reduction measures.
Nelson’s bylaw does not ban drug use in all parks, but chose specific locations “as they are the park spaces most used by children on a regular basis for recreational and other leisure activities.”
“The use of illicit drugs in parks is likely to interfere with the public’s use and enjoyment of parks, and in particular is likely to disrupt recreational and other leisure activities, disturb the peace, comfort and enjoyment of people using the park in their leisure time, and result in unsettling behavior which causes some members of the public to leave or avoid the park,” the bylaw states.
“Most of the selected parks contain playgrounds and/or playing fields.”
Ten people died from using toxic drugs in Nelson last year.
The bylaw comes with B.C. in the eighth month of a three-year pilot project exploring the decriminalization of certain hard drugs, including heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA.
Under an exemption from Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, adults in B.C. can possess up to 2.5 grams of the drugs. Police will not arrest people in possession of those drugs or confiscate them, and instead hand out resource cards with information on where drug users can access services.
Decriminalization does not apply to school grounds, child-care facilities or airports.
The initiative is intended to reduce the stigma around drug use, allowing users to seek help. It is also meant to keep drug users out of the cycle of incarceration, allowing their drug use to be dealt with as a health problem, not a criminal one.
The initiative has proven to be highly controversial, with opponents arguing that open drug use is spilling out into public areas including parks and playgrounds, potentially putting children and youth at risk.
Along with concerns over public drug use, B.C.’s decriminalization approach has been criticized for not being paired with adequate access to treatment resources or safer supply of tested drugs.
Supporters have argued that banning drug use from public areas essentially re-criminalizes it, potentially forcing drug users back underground where they risk fatally overdosing while consuming drugs alone.
A number of cities, including Kamloops and Port Coquitlam have since passed their own bylaws similar to Nelson’s.
The province has hinted that it could pass provincial legislation on public drug use, as opposed to a patchwork of municipal bylaws, when the legislature returns for its fall sitting in October.
List of Nelson public areas where the use of illicit drugs is prohibited:
- Gyro Park and Municipal Campground
- Cottonwood Park
- Rosemont Park
- Lakeside Park, except land adjacent to Duck Bay
- Hall Street Pier
- Hall Street Plaza
- Civic Centre
- Nelson and District Community Complex (NDCC) (10-meter radius)
- Queen E Park
- Lions Park
- Scout hall (10-meter radius)
- Chatham Street Park
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