Needles are seen on the ground in Oppenheimer park in Vancouver’s downtown eastside in a file photo. The Canadian Press/Jonathan Hayward
B.C. Minister of Health Josie Osborne says the province won’t ask Health Canada to renew its exemption from Canada’s federal drug laws that was granted in January 2023 and is set to expire at the end of this month.
The pilot program decriminalized personal possession and use of 2.5 grams or less of cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA, and opioids for those over 18 in a move the province said was intended to decrease stigma over drug use and encourage treatment for addicts.
