The decriminalization of illicit drugs in British Columbia: a national evaluation protocol.

ABSTRACT:

Background

On January 31st, 2023, the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada, was granted a federal exemption allowing adults (aged 18 +) to possess up to 2.5 g of select illicit drugs. The exemption will be in place for three years (2023-2026), marking the first formal decriminalization of illicit drug policy reform in Canada. BC's decriminalization initiative is premised on several goals. This project seeks to evaluate each of these goals and their individual and combined contributions to determine the overall success of this policy.

Methods

The following protocol paper provides a detailed outline of a five-year (2022-2027) national evaluation of BC's decriminalization initiative, as well as the specific objectives, methodologies, and planned analyses for eight interrel

SUBMITTER: Russell C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11490149 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature