Ms Fiona Wilson:

That is a great question and it gets to the heart of what our challenge was in British Columbia. Under Canadian law, it is simply the possession that is unlawful. Our law does not contemplate use. When possession was made lawful, therefore, the use also became lawful and that is what caused significant challenges in our communities. We did have a number of high-profile examples of people who were using in very problematic circumstances, such as smoking crack at a beach next to a family. That family would call 911 and ask for police and we would be forced to say we were sorry but that it was not a police matter.

In the scenario the Senator is talking about, where somebody who is walking down the street is arrested, such as on a warrant, and happens to be in possession, it is very unlikely that person would be charged with possession. As I mentioned, in Vancouver in 2022, the figure was in single digits. I think we had five charges in an entire year for simple possession, so it is very rare. If that person went to jail, we would seize and destroy those drugs, whereas under decriminalisation, in the same scenario, we would have held on to those drugs, assuming it was under 2.5 g and the person was not in an exception to the exemption, and when they were released from jail, we would return the drugs because we recognised that when police seize drugs from people who have a substance use disorder, it can put them in very dangerous circumstances. It can also lead to increased criminality and, in worst-case scenarios, with women particularly but also with men, engagement with the sex trade. We recognised all that. The issue with us here in British Columbia is that our Canadian law does not distinguish between possession and use.