Recommendation 1: Pursuant to section 56(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the City of Vancouver should apply to the federal Minister of Health for an exemption that applies to all people in the City of Vancouver against section 4(1) of the CDSA, on the basis that it is necessary for a medical or scientific purpose or is otherwise in the public interest.

In order to address the totality of overdose deaths in Vancouver, the exemption should apply broadly in terms of population, geography, and drug. The exemption should apply:

• To any person who possesses drugs for personal use while in Vancouver and;
• In all instances meeting the offence criteria for simple possession, regardless of the substance in question.

People of all demographics and geographic regions of Vancouver are impacted by the opioid crisis. Though poor and racialized people are disproportionately impacted by law enforcement (due to pre-existing state-sanctioned violence in the form of housing and income insecurity, police bias, and the like), street market toxicity means that all people who use drugs—however frequently or occasionally—are at risk of fatal overdose and in need of evidence-based drug policy.

Support for a broad exemption is also provided by the extent of contamination in Vancouver’s street drug supply. In 2018, approximately 88% of tested street drug samples marketed as opioids tested positive for fentanyl. Fentanyl was found in samples believed to be depressants and stimulants alike.  Street drugs themselves are constantly changing, and a static narcotic schedule (like the CDSA) is bound to be eclipsed by the reality of new compounds being formulated and used over time. Decriminalizing the possession of some drugs and not others, or some people and not others, would be arbitrary and illogical during a time when the risks are extreme for anyone who relies on an (ever-evolving) street market, however infrequently.