Singh Kelsall Tyson, Veark Jasmine, Beatrice Molly
Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada; Care Not Cops, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, Calgary, ALTA, Canada.
Int J Drug Policy. 2025 Feb;136:104688. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104688. Epub 2024 Dec 19.
This commentary explores a recent shift in British Columbia's drug policy under a novel drug "decriminalization" framework. We focus on the province's move toward "recriminalization" under this framework. In short, recriminalization was a shift in BC's drug decriminalization framework to only apply in private residences, and be removed from essentially all outdoor spaces. This policy change was completed through an agreement with the federal government amid a public health emergency. Since 2016, BC has faced a severe crisis of drug-related overdoses and poisonings, driven by a toxic and unregulated drug supply compounded by prohibitionist policies. Expert recommendations for increasing access to a regulated drug supply have repeatedly dismissed as solutions by the governing BC New Democratic Party, opting instead for measures that do not undercut the toxic drug supply. We examine the sociolegal context of the BC government decision to recriminalize drug use in 2024, including attempts to criminalize recent drug use and police suspicion of substance use. These drug law reforms, understood here as forms of biopolitical violence, reflect a broader trend of using drug policies as tools for social and spatial regulation. By analyzing the sociolegal implications of these policies, the commentary situates the BC government's actions within a framework of sanctioned biopolitical massacre, highlighting the tension between purported decriminalization efforts and the actual enforcement strategies that perpetuate harm and exclusion. This examination underscores the complex interplay between drug policy, public health crises, and state power in the context of systemic colonial and racialized control that may be adaptable to other regions considering drug law reform.
本评论探讨了不列颠哥伦比亚省在新的毒品“非刑罪化”框架下近期的毒品政策转变。我们关注该省在这一框架下走向“重新刑罪化”的举措。简而言之，重新刑罪化是不列颠哥伦比亚省毒品非刑罪化框架的一种转变，即仅适用于私人住宅，并基本上从所有户外空间移除。这一政策变化是在公共卫生紧急情况下通过与联邦政府达成的协议完成的。自2016年以来，不列颠哥伦比亚省面临着与毒品相关的过量用药和中毒的严重危机，这是由有毒且不受监管的毒品供应以及禁令政策加剧导致的。增加获得受监管毒品供应的专家建议多次被执政的不列颠哥伦比亚新民主党驳回，转而选择那些不会削弱有毒毒品供应的措施。我们审视了不列颠哥伦比亚省政府在2024年将毒品使用重新刑罪化这一决定的社会法律背景，包括将近期毒品使用定罪的尝试以及警方对吸毒的怀疑。这些毒品法律改革，在此被理解为生物政治暴力的形式，反映了将毒品政策用作社会和空间监管工具的更广泛趋势。通过分析这些政策的社会法律影响，本评论将不列颠哥伦比亚省政府的行动置于认可的生物政治屠杀框架内，突出了所谓的非刑罪化努力与延续伤害和排斥的实际执法策略之间的紧张关系。这一审视强调了在系统性殖民和种族化控制背景下毒品政策、公共卫生危机和国家权力之间复杂的相互作用，这可能适用于其他考虑毒品法律改革的地区。
