Operating Grant: Evaluation of the British Columbia Exemption to Allow for Personal Possession of Small Amounts of Illegal Drugs (Semi-annual Meeting)
What We Heard Report

Meeting date: April 29, 2026
Location: Virtual Meeting

Summary – April 2026

Nominated Principal Investigator: Jürgen Rehm, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH); Ontario Node, Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Matters (CRISM)

Introduction

This funding opportunity was designed to enable an independent evaluation of the British Columbia (B.C.) exemption from subsection 56 (1) of Canada's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which came into effect on January 31, 2023.

Background information on the funding opportunity and the Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Matters (CRISM) Ontario Node team leading this five-year policy evaluation project can be found on CIHR's website and the CRISM Ontario website.

CIHR-Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (INMHA) is committed to knowledge mobilization and has generated this report to summarize the study's progress to date, as presented by the research team at an update meeting on April 29.

Previous updates:

Progress Summary

During the present reporting period (November 2025 – April 2026), the research team presented Year 3 findings from British Columbia’s decriminalization pilot. The pilot was initially implemented on January 31, 2023, with an intended three-year period ending January 31 2026. However, the policy was substantially amended in May 2024, when the federal government approved the province’s request to exclude public spaces from the decriminalization exemption. This amendment effectively recriminalized the possession of any amount of drugs in most public spaces, meaning the pilot did not continue in its original form for the full three-year period. The decriminalization pilot formally ended on January 31 2026, and no plans to renew this initiative have been established.

During this reporting period, the research team carried out several key research activities. Quantitative analyses of drug possession seizures found significant declines during the initial decriminalization period, with drug possession seizures below 2.5g and seizures of drugs in any quantity decreasing by 87% and 68%, respectively, relative to the pre-decriminalization period; these indicators subsequently returned to pre-decriminalization levels following the May 2024 policy amendment. Similarly, the number of possession-related court cases and people incarcerated for drug-related offences decreased by 36% and 21%, respectively, during the initial decriminalization period compared with pre-decriminalization levels; drug possession cases were associated with a decrease of 42% during the policy amendment.

The team also launched Phase II of the survey of harm reduction (HR) and opioid agonist treatment (OAT) services. Findings showed minimal policy-related changes to service delivery and limited receipt of dedicated funding or training, alongside constant staffing and resource constraints that were exacerbated during policy implementation. The amendment intensified policing and displacement, pushing drug use into more hidden and hazardous settings, disrupting client engagement, and ultimately increasing overdose risk for many clients. Follow-up interviews to provide additional context to service providers’ responses will launch during the next reporting period.

Survey data collected by the British Columbia provincial government following Phases I and II of online police training highlighted several implementation challenges. Only 29% of officers felt that training was sufficient to support effective policy implementation, and many lacked confidence in facilitating access to health services for people who use drugs. Concerns raised prior to rollout, including liability related to returning seized drugs, distinguishing possession from trafficking, and insufficient infrastructure to support service access, largely remained unresolved. Following the policy’s rollout, officers reported more negative interactions with people who use drugs, increased substance use-related workloads, reduced ability to maintain public order, and more public complaints about visible drug use.

Furthermore, the team triangulated Year 2 qualitative data from both police and people who use drugs, finding both convergence and divergence in experiences. Police viewed decriminalization as formalizing existing non-enforcement practices while limiting operational flexibility, whereas people who use drugs experienced it as reducing uncertainty and strengthening legal protections. The amendment similarly produced divergent experiences with police associating it with renewed authority and legitimacy, and people who use drugs associating it with increased surveillance and risk. Both groups agreed that substance use is primarily a health and social issue and identified the need for stronger infrastructure and ongoing stakeholder engagement.

A systematic review of the literature on BC’s decriminalization pilot included 27 studies, identifying four cross-cutting barriers – policy design features, communication gaps, limited frontline training, and insufficient funding and infrastructure. Findings suggest that the effects of the policy are shaped by the implementation context, with early outcomes reflecting design features, institutional readiness, and system capacity, rather than legal change alone.

Many of the implementation gaps identified by the systematic review as well as the police service training data were corroborated through interviews with staff hired to support the rollout of the policy (e.g., proactive outreach staff and decriminalization leads). Key issues identified included a lack of clear communication and messaging, issues with monitoring and reporting – including performance metrics that were not well aligned with staff’s day-to-day work, insufficient public-facing communications and education, and inadequate service infrastructure and system readiness.

To support knowledge mobilization, the team conducted nine presentations – both nationally and internationally - and published and/or submitted 14 academic manuscripts, alongside additional knowledge translation activities.

Presentation Takeaways

Discussion Highlights

Looking Ahead

Planned research activities for years 4 and 5 of the evaluation include continued monitoring of quantitative outcomes, including health (hospitalizations, overdose poisonings, opioid agonist treatment engagement, and visits to harm reduction services) and criminal justice (drug possession offences, seizures, court cases, and people incarcerated for drug-related crimes), with a focus on post-January 2026 outcomes.

Round three of the IPSOS public opinion polling survey will be launched to examine public attitudes toward decriminalization, feelings of safety, policy support and sources of information.

Additional qualitative interviews with people who use drugs, service providers, policymakers and government stakeholders will be explored. A comprehensive economic analysis will be conducted near the end of the five-year evaluation.

The research team is further exploring comparative work with Oregon and other jurisdictions that have decriminalized drugs to deepen the understanding beyond the limited BC jurisdictional setting and timeframe.

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