The latest news articles featuring BC Centre on Substance Use.
Critics weigh in on B.C. ending its experiment with drug decriminalization
January 16, 2026 | Global News Morning BC
Three years after it was launched, B.C. is pulling the plug on its drug decriminalization pilot project. Global News Morning speaks with Kora DeBeck, a Professor of Substance Use and Drug Policy in SFU’s School of Public Policy, about why the program failed to deliver the results the province ...
Decriminalization won’t be renewed
January 15, 2026 | Vancouver Sun
The province’s drug decriminalization test is coming to an end, three years after it was introduced with much fanfare as a measure meant to reduce stigma toward drug users and keep them alive until they could receive treatment. The pilot project was put in place in Januar...
B.C. won’t extend its drug decriminalization project, health minister announces
January 14, 2026 | CBC News
B.C. will not be continuing its drug decriminalization project, Health Minister Josie Osborne announced in Victoria Wednesday. The three-year pilot project, which allowed people to be in possession of small amounts of illicit drugs, began on Jan. 31, 2023, and will expire at the end of this month. T...
B.C. premier says decriminalized public drug use did not work
January 07, 2026 | CBC Radio - On the Coast
Fiona Wilson is the chief of the Victoria Police Department and a former president of the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police. Kora DeBeck is a Distinguished Professor of Substance Use and Drug Policy at Simon Fraser University. [Radio]...
Inspired by Cities Around the World, 9 Ideas to Change Vancouver for the Better
January 01, 2026 | Vancouver Magazine
There are so many great aspects of our city. One might even say that the mission of this very magazine is to talk about them. But there is plenty that we can improve on, too. The biggest issues facing Vancouver today all trace back to one central idea: community. From affordable housing to mental he...
