Municipal Police Chief Casts Doubt on Effectiveness of BC Drug Decriminalization

Leah Hill, a behavioral health fellow with the Baltimore City Health Department, displays a sample of Narcan nasal spray in Baltimore on Jan. 23, 2018. The Canadian Press/AP-Patrick Semansky

The chief of a municipal police force in Metro Vancouver has issued an open letter criticizing British Columbia’s drug decriminalization policies as ineffective in the face of the ongoing overdose crisis.

Delta Police Chief Const. Neil Dubord says in the letter that while he agrees with “the underlying principles of decriminalization,” an early evaluation shows that the policy has not led to “the desired outcome.”