Canadian province will make changes to try to stop drug use in public places, premier says

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The British Columbia government is making changes to its drug decriminalization policy to stop drug use in public places. Premier David Eby said the province is asking the federal government to make illicit drug use illegal in all public spaces, including inside hospitals, on transit and in parks. Eby said the government still believes “addiction is a health issue. It’s not a criminal laws issue.” Possession of small amounts of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA, also called ecstasy, was decriminalized in B.C. last January after the federal government issued an exemption to the province to try to stem the overdose death toll.