B.C. city is making it a ticketable offence to do drugs in public

Possession of small amounts of illegal drugs may have been decriminalized in B.C. but anybody caught consuming them on public property in Campbell River can be slapped with a $200 fine.

People are no longer charged if they are in possession of up to 2.5 grams of heroin, morphine, fentanyl, crack and powder cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA (ecstasy). As part of the exemption granted in B.C. by Health Canada, those possessing the small amount of the listed drugs can keep them.

At the most recent Campbell River council meeting, the City's public nuisance bylaw was amended so anyone who consumes a controlled substance in a public space will be subject to a $200 fine.

The lone voice against the idea was councillor Tanille Johnston.

“It feels tonight like there’s been some insinuation like everybody in Campbell River’s terrified of downtown,” she said at the meeting.

The City should wait for guidelines from the province before creating its own bylaws against drug use, Coun. Johnston argued.

“We didn’t seek out consultation on this from any medical professional at all and we are in a health-care crisis,” she said.

Councillor Ben Lanyon said the move was requested by members of the bylaw team.

“If it turns out that evidence comes in later that contradicts this then we can remove it,” he said. “Campbell River is being used as a test subject for a new program and we don’t know what’s going to happen.”

— This story was updated at 1:17 p.m. Monday, Feb. 6, 2023, to clarify and expand on Health Canada's exemption.

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