Part 2/11:
In January 2023, British Columbia took a radical step by decriminalizing small amounts of all hard drugs. This decision aimed to destigmatize drug use, encourage users to seek medical treatment, and lessen criminal prosecutions. However, just one year later, the statistics indicated that overdose numbers continued to climb, forcing the government to reconsider its approach. By April 2024, the province announced it would re-criminalize public drug possession in response to the rapidly escalating deaths.