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Timeline of B.C.’s three-year drug decriminalization pilot project

On Jan. 14, Health Minister Josie Osborne announced British Columbia will not seek an extension of its exemption with Health Canada, and the three-year decriminalization pilot ends on Jan. 31.
Provincial officials said the pilot's goal was to make it easier for people to seek help but had not delivered the hoped-for results, and Health Canada granted B.C. an exemption on May 31, 2022, later amended on May 7, 2024.
A 2025 JAMA Health Forum study linked decriminalization to increased opioid overdose hospitalizations but not to higher opioid deaths, with 1,538 deaths in the first 10 months of 2025.
Possession rules still bar drugs near schools and airports, the province passed the Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act to ban public use and authorize Police, while the B.C. Supreme Court granted a temporary injunction on parts of it.
Surrey mother Ellen Lin said ending the program came too late, linking it to her daughter Emmy Liu's Jan. 30, 2025 death, while Jennifer Whiteside warned ending it won’t save lives and Osborne pledged more treatment and harm reduction.

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BC to Formally End Drug Decriminalization Pilot Program by End of Month

B.C. Minister of Health Josie Osborne says the province won’t ask Health Canada to renew its exemption from Canada’s federal drug laws that was granted in January 2023 and is set to expire at the end of this month. The pilot program decriminalized personal possession and use of 2.5 grams or less of cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA, and opioids for those over 18 in a move the province said was intended to decrease stigma over drug use and encourage…

12 hours ago·New York, United States

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