British Columbia police chiefs have pulled their support for the province’s decriminalization project — a move that serves to underscore just how confusing, contradictory and politically untenable the entire issue has become.

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police issued a statement late last week saying “since the exemption came into effect, police have witnessed trends of concern, including a continued high rate of opioid overdose deaths as well as growing fear among law-abiding community members due to public drug use and drug-related criminal activity.

“As a result of the experience in British Columbia associated to the January 2023 three-year exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that decriminalized the possession of small amounts of certain illicit drugs for personal use in British Columbia, the CACP Board no longer supports the decriminalization of any amount of illicit drugs for personal use,” the association said.

B.C.’s top Mountie, Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald, sits on the Canadian police board, as does Victoria Police Chief Del Manak.

Within a day, the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police issued their own statement saying it “stands in alignment with the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police in its position on decriminalization and its role in addressing the ongoing toxic drug crisis.”

The move is significant, because the NDP government has long cited police support for........

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