What Happened When British Columbia Decriminalized Personal Drug Possession?
In January 2023, British Columbia became the first province in Canada to decriminalize the personal possession of small amounts of certain illegal drugs. This meant that adults would generally not face criminal penalties for carrying up to a set amount of these drugs for personal use.
The policy aimed to reduce the stigma and criminal consequences associated with drug use. It was also intended to make people who use drugs feel more comfortable accessing health care, treatment, and social services.
In a recent study, Dr. Sameer Imtiaz and his colleagues examined whether decriminalization changed how police and the criminal justice system responded to drug possession. The researchers compared police-recorded drug-possession incidents and charges, as well as drug-possession court cases, in British Columbia with those in other Canadian provinces examining data from 2013 to the end of 2023.
Their work addresses an important question for Canadian drug policy: can decriminalization reduce the number of people who face police action and criminal consequences for possessing drugs?
We spoke with Dr. Imtiaz about what the study found, how the policy changed over time, and what the findings could mean for future approaches to substance use.
What were the goals of decriminalizing the personal possession of illegal drugs?
SI: British Columbia received a three-year exemption from Canada’s federal drug-control laws. Under the exemption, adults could possess up to 2.5 grams of certain illegal drugs for personal use without facing criminal penalties.
The main goal was to reduce the stigma surrounding drug use and the fear of being criminalized. These concerns can prevent people who use drugs from seeking health care and social services.
Decriminalization had both short-term and long-term goals.
Some of the short-term goals included reducing drug seizures, arrests, charges, penalties and criminal records for simple possession. The policy was also intended to reduce the time and resources that police and courts spent responding to these cases.
The short-term goals were expected to be reached within five years.
The long-term goals required more time and further investment to address broader issues that affect health, such as housing, poverty, and access to care.
What motivated this research?
SI: Canada experienced a sharp rise in drug-poisoning deaths over the past two decades. In 2023, there were more than 8,600 opioid-poisoning deaths and more than 5,000 stimulant-poisoning deaths. These deaths have been especially high in British Columbia.
The criminalization of drugs may contribute to these harms. It can increase stigma, lead people to use drugs in riskier ways, make bystanders more hesitant to respond to drug poisoning, and discourage people from seeking health and social services.
British Columbia introduced decriminalization in response to these ongoing harms. Members of our team from Ontario Node of the Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Matters received a five-year grant to independently evaluate the impacts of the policy.
For this study, we examined the short-term effects of decriminalization on police enforcement and criminal court cases related to drug possession. Specifically, we studied drug possession incidents, persons charged in drug possession incidents, and drug possession cases.
What was the most important finding of this study, in your opinion?
SI: The most important finding was that decriminalization was linked to a reduction in drug-possession incidents recorded by police.
Drug possession incidents are a measure of police enforcement. They include police interactions or investigations in which officers suspect that a drug-possession offence has occurred.
After decriminalization, British Columbia had 5.5 fewer drug-possession incidents per 100,000 people each month compared with other Canadian provinces.
This indicates that police reduced their enforcement of drug-possession laws after the policy changed. It also suggests that police adjusted their practices to follow the new rules, meaning fewer people may have faced police action for possessing small amounts of drugs.
Although there were reductions in persons charged in drug possession incidents and drug possession cases in British Columbia, they did not differ significantly from other provinces in Canada.
What are the next steps?
SI: After decriminalization came into effect on January 31, 2023, concerns were raised about visible drug use and public disorder. The exemption was later changed twice.
The first amendment came into effect on September 18, 2023. It prohibited drug possession within 15 metres of parks, outdoor playgrounds, skate parks, spray pools and wading pools.
The second amendment came into effect on May 7, 2024. It further limited where possession was allowed. Drug possession was restricted to private residences, places where people experiencing homelessness were legally sheltering, and designated harm-reduction and substance-use treatment facilities. Harm-reduction services are programs designed to reduce the health risks associated with drug use.
This second amendment greatly reduced the scope of decriminalization.
The exemption was not renewed when it expired on January 31, 2026. As a result, criminal penalties for drug possession were reinstated.
The next phase of our research will examine the effects of the second amendment and the end of the exemption. We will study how these changes affected police-recorded drug-possession incidents, the number of people charged, and the number of cases handled by the criminal justice system.
How could this change service delivery in the future?
SI: Because decriminalization reduced police enforcement of drug possession, it may have made some people who use drugs feel more comfortable seeking health care, treatment and social services.
However, it is difficult to assess the policy’s longer-term effects on access to services because the exemption was later restricted and ultimately allowed to expire.
What is the major take-home message for the public?
SI: The major take-home message is that decriminalization reduced police enforcement of drug-possession laws.
The research featured in this article was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (FRN-181677 and FRN-184698).
Special thanks to co-authors: Sami Aftab Abdul, Erwen Wu, Huan Jiang, Cayley Russell, Farihah Ali, Jürgen Rehm, Amanda Butler, Tara Elton-Marshall, Iesha Henderson, Tara Gomes, Alissa Greer, Brooke Kinniburgh, Bernard Le Foll, Heather Palis, and Sean Patenaude.
Sami Aftab Abdul, Erwen Wu, Huan Jiang, Cayley Russell, Farihah Ali, Jürgen Rehm, Amanda Butler, Tara Elton-Marshall, Iesha Henderson, Tara Gomes, Alissa Greer, Brooke Kinniburgh, Bernard Le Foll, Heather Palis, Sean Patenaude, Sameer Imtiaz.
The short-term impacts of the decriminalization of personal possession of select illegal drugs on drug possession criminal incidents and criminal cases in British Columbia, Canada (2013 to 2023). International Journal of Drug Policy, Volume 152, 2026. 105261, ISSN 0955-3959. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2026.105261.
