OTTAWA – The federal government says it is open to further decriminalization of possession, to a small extent, of hard drugs in jurisdictions across the country. Conservatives say they support what they call a “health-based” approach to drug addiction. 

Mental Health and Addiction Minister Carolyn Bennett said the government’s goal is to expand decriminalization but this step must be taken in concert with local governments.

Meanwhile, British Columbia is the first province in Canada to have decriminalized possession of small amounts of hard drugs for adults aged 18 and older. “The four drugs that are in the B.C. plan may not be the four drugs that another part of Canada would like to be lawful so there are several local realities,” Bennett said.

Starting January 31, this one-of-a-kind exemption will allow people in B.C. to possess up to 2.5 grams of combined opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine or MDMA.

The exemption therefore guarantees that there will be no arrests or seizure of the drug: a maximum amount of 2.5 grams is allowed for personal use.

But NDP leader Jagmeet Singh does not think it right that decriminalization is currently limited to British Columbia alone as most Canadians with drug addiction will continue to be prosecuted.” It is shameful, frankly, not to take a national approach to a national crisis,” Singh said.

Singh then called on Trudeau to support NDP MP Gord Johns’ private bill, which would expand decriminalisation across the country but this was rejected. Trudeau said he “supports the spirit of the legislation but not its approach.” “By taking a health approach across the country, which is exactly what you need to adopt, you need to work with the people who actually direct health care in each different province,” Trudeau said. This means working with municipalities. That means working with frontline workers and that’s exactly what we’ve done responsibly at B.C. to make sure there’s a structure around that.”

The HIV Legal Network said it welcomed the changes in British Columbia but believed the federal government should have done more. “It is disappointing that decriminalization as announced on May 31 will not protect all people who use drugs from being criminalized – said the organization – we support the step forward, but we dream big. We want complete decriminalization for everyone.”