And yet, that policy ended almost a year ago and basically nothing has changed since. Police still don't really arrest people for possession of small amounts, just like they don't in other jurisdictions. If decriminalization was holding them back, then why hasn't anything been fixed since then?
Open drug use is primarily a real estate/affordability issue, not a decriminalization one. When you have a large homeless population, you'll tend to have more open drug use. For instance, Alberta has basically just as many drug-related deaths and hospitalizations as BC does, which suggests that drug use is just as high. But with lower cost of living, that drug use is more likely to take place in private spaces.
Eby is a pretty good politician though. Unlike a lot of politicians, he can read the room and pivot when it's expedient to do so (see his recent comments on the TFW program).
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