British Columbia ends drug decriminalisation pilot programme

The Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) said it will not be extending its controversial drug decriminalisation project, allowing it to expire at the end of January.

The programme began in 2023 as a three-year pilot agenda. It was a landmark policy meant to help tackle the province's deadly opioid addiction crisis, which has claimed thousands of lives in the last decade.

But the scheme has faced pushback over concerns around public disorder and drug use.

BC's health minister Josie Osborne said the province is now backing off from the pilot because it "hasn't delivered the results that we hoped for".

At a news conference on Wednesday, Osborne said "it is difficult, if not even possible" to determine whether the programme led more people struggling with opioid addiction to receive treatment.

BC was the only province in Canada to implement a drug decriminalisation pilot programme.

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The project allowed adults to possess up to 2.5 grams of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine or methamphetamine without being arrested, charged or having their drugs seized, except around schools and airports.

Proponents of it, including public health experts, argue that decriminalisation could help keep drug users out of the prison system and steer them towards life-saving treatment.

But it faced heavy scrutiny from some members of the public in BC after stories emerged of open illicit drug use in places like public parks and hospitals. Political opponents argued it was a "harmful experiment" that has led to disorder.

Osborne acknowledged on Wednesday that the public conversation around drug decriminalisation in BC had become "very challenging".

She added that the province will release a final report on the programme's outcomes once it is concluded.

The shift in BC's policy comes as other provinces across the country, namely Ontario and Alberta, move away from harm-reduction strategies — like supervised drug consumption sites — and towards policy that prioritises addiction recovery and treatment.

Opioid-related deaths increased slightly by 5.8% from 2023 to 2024 in BC, according to data by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Preliminary data from 2025 show that drug-related deaths across the country have trended downwards, but they remain the highest in BC.

In 2024, the US state of Oregon also reversed a decriminalisation policy that had been in place since 2020.

The policy was seen by many as the most liberal effort in the US to decriminalise hard drugs.

Lawmakers later backtracked after overdoses continued to spike in the state and amid pressure from the public over people openly using drugs on streets, sidewalks and in front of stores.

Decriminalisation policies have also been proposed elsewhere, including in Scotland, though the UK government rejected that plan.