By The Canadian Press

drug decriminalization

No possession arrests without ‘extenuating circumstances’: head of B.C. police group

Jan 26, 2026 | 3:13 PM

VICTORIA — The president of the BC Association of Chiefs of Police says people will not be arrested for possession of small amounts of drugs after the end of decriminalization on Jan. 31, “unless there are extenuating circumstances.”

Andrew Chan, who is also Deputy Chief of the Vancouver Police Department, says police are working closely with the provincial government to develop guidelines on how to handle the ending of the three-year pilot program in British Columbia.

He says people should not expect to see “a marked difference in what’s happening out on the streets.”

Chan says a committee consisting of representatives from his association as well as the provincial ministries of health, and public safety and solicitor general have been developing protocols that are not yet publicly available but will be rolled out to all police agencies across the province before the end of the month.

B.C. is not seeking an extension of the Health Canada exemption that decriminalized possession of up to 2.5 grams of drugs for personal use, including fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine.

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Chan says the end of decriminalization is going to give police tools to “potentially” arrest individuals for possession, but “that hasn’t been the case historically” anyway.

He says that police understand that addiction is a health issue, but if “there’s disorder and other complexities involved, officers now will have the tools again to arrest in certain circumstances.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press