School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada; British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, 655W 12th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 4R4, Canada.
School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada.
Int J Drug Policy. 2024 Mar;125:104354. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104354. Epub 2024 Feb 24.
North America and the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada, is experiencing an unprecedented number of overdose deaths. In BC, overdose has become the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 10-59 years old. In January 2023, BC decriminalized personal possession of a number of illegal substances with one aim being to address overdose deaths through stigma reduction and promoting access to substance use services.
We conducted a qualitative study to understand people who use drugs' (PWUD) perceptions of the new decriminalization policy, immediately prior to its' implementation (October-December 2022). To contextualize decriminalization within broader drug policy, we also asked PWUD what they perceived as the priority issues drug policy ought to address and the necessary solutions. Our final sample included 38 participants who used illegal drugs in the past month.
We identified four themes: 1) The illicit drug supply as the main driver of drug toxicity deaths 2) Concerns about the impact of decriminalization on drug toxicity deaths 3) Views towards decriminalization as a policy response in the context of the drug toxicity crisis 4) Regulation as a symbol of hope for reducing drug toxicity deaths.
From our data it became clear that many anticipated that decriminalization would have minimal or no impact on the overdose crisis. Regulation was perceived as the necessary policy approach for effectively and candidly addressing the drivers of the ongoing overdose crisis. These findings are important as jurisdictions consider different approaches to moving away from prohibition-based drug policy.
北美和加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省（BC）正经历着前所未有的过量用药死亡人数。在 BC，过量用药已成为 10-59 岁人群的主要死因。2023 年 1 月，BC 将个人持有多种非法物质合法化，其目的之一是通过减少污名化和促进获得药物使用服务来解决过量用药死亡问题。
我们进行了一项定性研究，以了解在新的非刑事化政策实施之前（2022 年 10 月至 12 月），吸毒者（PWUD）对该政策的看法。为了将非刑事化置于更广泛的毒品政策背景下，我们还询问了 PWUD 他们认为毒品政策应该优先解决的问题和必要的解决方案。我们的最终样本包括 38 名过去一个月内使用过非法药物的参与者。
我们确定了四个主题：1）非法毒品供应是导致药物毒性死亡的主要原因；2）对非刑事化对药物毒性死亡影响的担忧；3）在药物毒性危机背景下将非刑事化视为政策应对的观点；4）监管是减少药物毒性死亡的希望象征。
从我们的数据中可以清楚地看出，许多人预计非刑事化对过量危机的影响将微不足道或没有影响。监管被视为有效和坦率地解决持续的过量危机的驱动因素所需的政策方法。这些发现很重要，因为司法管辖区正在考虑采取不同的方法来摆脱基于禁止的毒品政策。
