Farihah Ali, Cayley Russell, Margret Lo, Matthew Bonn, Geoff Bardwell, Jade Boyd, Elaine Hyshka, Jürgen Rehm
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives: On January 31, 2023, a three-year exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act was granted to the Canadian province British Columbia (BC), allowing the cumulative possession of 2.5 g of specific unregulated drugs amongst adults. The goals of the policy are to reduce health, social, and economic harms associated with criminalization, stigma, drug overdose deaths, as well as drug seizures, arrests, and associated enforcement and court costs. As the inaugural year has passed, we aimed to assess people who use drugs' awareness and knowledge of the, as well as the policy's impact on their drug use patterns and overdose risk.
Methods: We conducted 100 telephone-based semi-structured interviews with people who use drugs from across BC, exploring changes in drug use experiences and perceived overdose risk since the implementation of the policy. Participants also completed an interviewer-administered survey assessing socio-demographics and substance use patterns. We utilized a qualitative content analysis approach to analyze the interview data.
Results: Our findings indicate a general awareness of the policy among participants, although some policy details were often misunderstood, and participants expressed the need for more widespread dissemination of policy information. While the majority of participants reported that their drug use patterns remained unchanged after decriminalization, some made subtle adjustments, such as carrying under the 2.5 g threshold to minimize the risk of criminalization. Participants highlighted several policy benefits and concerns, including its potential to reduce criminalization and stigmatization, but also increase public drug consumption. Participants offered suggestions for policy improvement.
Conclusion: These findings underscore the need for ongoing monitoring of the impacts of decriminalization regarding its potential impact on people who use drugs' drug use patterns and related risks. Reevaluation of the possession threshold and efforts to enhance education and awareness about the policy could help achieve the policy's goals.
期刊介绍:
Harm Reduction Journal is an Open Access, peer-reviewed, online journal whose focus is on the prevalent patterns of psychoactive drug use, the public policies meant to control them, and the search for effective methods of reducing the adverse medical, public health, and social consequences associated with both drugs and drug policies. We define "harm reduction" as "policies and programs which aim to reduce the health, social, and economic costs of legal and illegal psychoactive drug use without necessarily reducing drug consumption". We are especially interested in studies of the evolving patterns of drug use around the world, their implications for the spread of HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne pathogens.