Open drug use, overdoses up since decriminalization began, say Kamloops RCMP superintendent and fire chief

KAMLOOPS — The city’s top cop and its fire chief are in agreement: open drug use and overdose calls have jumped within the City of Kamloops since the province launched its drug decriminalization experiment.

During a City of Kamloops Community Policing Select Committee meeting Thursday morning (July 20), RCMP Superintendent Jeff Pelley and Kamloops Fire Rescue Chief Ken Uzeloc were asked to relay their observations of how activities have changed on the streets since January 31. That’s the day possession of small amounts of illicit substances became legal in B.C.

Pelley told the committee — which consists of Councillors Kelly Hall, Katie Neustaeter and Dale Bass — substance use has become more open in the subsequent five months.

“We’ve seen the impact of greater open use occurring in areas — the downtown core as well as in areas where some of our vulnerable are,” said Pelley. “Anecdotally, yes, we’re seeing it more prominent.”

The superintendent noted the change in drug laws has altered the way officers deal with people who use drugs, though officers can still make arrests and recommend charges if there are offences taking place along with drug possession.

Chief Ken Uzeloc (left) and Supt. Jeff Pelley (right) (Image Credit: CFJC Today / File)

Uzeloc, meantime, said calls in which naloxone was used spiked in the first three months of 2023, up 66 per cent over the same period in 2022. The chief noted B.C. Ambulance Service-coded overdose response calls were also up. He added when firefighters respond to calls, they are preparing to encounter dangerous levels of fentanyl.

“When decriminalization occurred, we put out a memo to our staff to now anticipate that there may be up to 2.5 grams of fentanyl or other illicit drugs in the vicinity or on the person and to take extreme caution and wear all [personal protective equipment] as prescribed for responding to these events.”

Pelley noted exposure to trace amounts of fentanyl can be extremely dangerous.

Councillor Neustaeter, who asked Pelley and Uzeloc for their observations, noted they are being made in the absence of provincial data.

“The province and our health authority have repeatedly said over and over, ‘Decriminalization will not increase use. We don’t see that in the data. We don’t project that,’” said Neustaeter. “You’ll note the dashboard we were promised is not active or live yet. We have absolutely nothing to indicate success or failure, so far, of decriminalization.”

B.C.’s exemption to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act will last until January 31, 2026. It allows adults to possess up to 2.5 grams of certain drugs for personal use. The drugs allowed include heroin, morphine, fentanyl, crack, powder cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA (ecstasy).