Nanaimo City Council debated a report which touched on their options if they decided to enact a bylaw limiting public drug use, eight months after the province decriminalized small amounts of illicit drug possession. (Dreamstime)

By Jordan Davidson

drugs in public

City of Nanaimo looking at options for reducing public drug use

Sep 13, 2023 | 5:28 AM

NANAIMO — City councillors are debating what, if any, bylaws could be passed to reduce the use of illicit drugs in public.

During a Monday, Sept. 11 council meeting, councillors reviewed a report on what bylaw-regulated controlled substance use in public would potentially look like, and if it was even possible given the provincial regulations. The move comes nearly eight months after B.C. decriminalized illicit drugs in amounts less than 2.5 grams.

Coun. Ian Thorpe said he thinks this topic is top of mind for many B.C. municipalities, and said the needs of drug users must be balanced with the needs of the community.

“It’s business owners who are being impacted as well…members of our tax-paying public are being adversely affected by having to deal with public drug use in public spaces, and quite frankly I’m hearing a lot of people say they are not prepared to tolerate it, they want some action.”

Thorpe went on to say he’s willing to wait for potential provincial legislation during the fall sitting of the Legislature, but if he “sees no concerted action” on this, he is ready to introduce a proposed public drug use policy for the City.

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The report looked at a number of other municipalities which have tried to implement bylaws on this matter, including Prince George, Penticton, and Campbell River.

In Campbell River, they imposed a $200 fine for the consumption of controlled substances in public places, but it was quickly rescinded following a legal challenge by Pivot Legal Society in B.C.’s supreme court.

The reasons given include the bylaw being outside of the scope of their authority and their failure to consult their Medical Health Officer (MHO) or any other medical professionals prior to enacting it.

Coun. Sheryl Armstrong and Ben Geselbracht agreed with Thorpe, with Geselbracht saying until we’re able to figure out what “normal” public drug policies will have successful results, we’re in a bit of a “wild west”.

He said during a summer trip through Nelson, he discussed this issue with their councillors after they passed a bylaw restricting the use of illicit drugs in certain public places, and said they made a few good points.

“The whole goal of decriminalization was to reduce stigma, and in fact, this decriminalization has had the opposite effect in some cases of increasing stigma because there is a general sense of unsafety.”

He said Nelson’s approach is something they should consider if the City goes ahead with this type of bylaw.

Mayor Leonard Krog said bylaws like these where they impose monetary fines on users “doesn’t make sense to fine someone who’s starving and living on the streets already.”

“But at the same time…it is not just about the people in the streets, it’s the people who don’t live in the streets, who don’t want to have their children and their families exposed to open drug use, which is clearly having an incredibly damaging impact on the users in our streets who are living the most miserable lives of anyone in our community,” said Krog.

Manager of community safety Dave LaBerge said when he spoke with Nanaimo’s MHO about a potential bylaw, their focus was on substance users rather than the impacts on the rest of the community.

LaBerge said it would be fair to say community impact concerns “weren’t really factored heavily into our conversation” with the MHO.

He said the MHO requested any municipality thinking of a bylaw regarding public drug use consider multiple principles including ensuring the bylaw doesn’t undermine the provincial decriminalization legislation.

Another request included communicating with the province about the bylaw. Island Health also warned any bylaw enacted would be unlikely to reduce drug use, but rather force people to move their drug use to areas with less support.

Councillors agreed to wait until the fall sitting of the provincial legislature for any updates or changes to drug decriminalization legislation before considering a bylaw like this again.

Municipalities are also still waiting for the mandated provincial data on the decriminalization pilot project, which has been delayed from the initial approximately 6-month timeline.

This topic also plans to be high on the list during the upcoming Union of BC Municipalities meeting from Sept. 12-22 in Vancouver.

Seventy-six people in Nanaimo have already died from toxic drug use from January 1 until July 31, putting the region on track to break the previous yearly death toll of 77 set in 2022.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow