People caught with three days worth of illicit drugs won’t face criminal charges under City of Vancouver proposal

The city on Monday submitted its second submission to Health Canada, this one outlining proposed threshold limits on what would constitute personal possession.

DeBeck said the consumption volumes derived from the surveys are highly conservative estimates, given the “astronomical” increase in opioid use in recent years, and the fact the surveys largely focus on injection drug use, not accounting for people who snort or smoke their substances.

DeBeck said the recommended threshold is a starting point that must be evaluated and revised as needed.

Ted Bruce, former executive director of population health for VCH and project manager for Vancouver’s exemption application, said should police encounter someone with an amount of drugs under the threshold, the officer will likely provide that person with a card with information on how to access VCH’s overdose outreach team.

“There is a big anxiety on the part of drug users that if a police officer comes across them with drugs even under the threshold, they may then try to charge them with possession for the purposes of trafficking,” Mr.

The city is expected to submit information to Health Canada on its health care response and risk mitigation efforts in coming weeks, and finalize the application around mid-May.

Under Section 56 of the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Minister of Health can exempt from provisions of the act “any person or class of persons … if, in the opinion of the Minister, the exemption is necessary for a medical or scientific purpose or is otherwise in the public interest.”.

Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson also wrote to federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu to inquire about such an exemption to decriminalize provincewide.

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