[Woman] It's grown since the last time we were back here.
[Reporter] Along this makeshift pathway strewn with garbage
are some of Abbotsford's most vulnerable.
Many addicted to drugs, living in the shadow of a highway overpass.
[Woman] Just because I love you.
[Man] Thank you.
[Woman] You're welcome.
I'm glad you're doing OK.
[Reporter] Kim Friesen is the coordinator of Project Angel
a peer-driven outreach team that works to support those who are homeless
or consumed by addiction.
[Kim] The systems are very hard to navigate when you're street entrenched.
When you're using, struggling with mental health.
[Reporter] And part of what makes this program unique is its connection
to the local police.
[Officer] Are you looking to get into detox?
[Reporter] Sgt. Kevin Murray is not too interested
in the drug paraphernalia that lies on the ground
or too bothered when someone prepares to smoke crack cocaine in front of him.
[Sgt. Murray] Are you on the list?
[Reporter] Five years ago he says it would basically be unheard of for an officer
to respond this way.
[Sgt. Murray] You smoked right in front of me, man.
That's the natural progression of what's happening here.
[Reporter] He says there's been a shift in policing.
I have bigger fish to fry
and bigger worries than whether or not they're using some heroin.
It's more like how do we get you off the streets?
How do I get you reconnected to a mental health professional?
[Woman] Shane, are you back here?
[Reporter] Near the back of the encampment we're introduced to Shane Patmore.
[Woman] We've got harm reduction.
We've got Narcan.
We've got juice, we've got chocolate.
[Reporter] He built this shed on top of a swamp
where he stays with his girlfriend Kelsey Martin.
[Shane] That some of the heroin.
[Kelsey] That's not much at all.
[Shane] Yeah, that's like a half-point.
[Kelsey] Yeah, it's like $10 worth.
[Kelsey] I have a pretty happy habit.
So I like I can do probably this ten times a day.
[Reporter] Because they know the outreach team
they aren't afraid to show us the drugs.
Even though they both say they've spent time in jail before.
What they're most fearful of is an overdose.
[Shane] Most people that are dying from this stuff are dying alone.
Right, you know what I mean?
And that's because they are hiding from it
or they don't want to get caught by the police with it or something
because then it's a whole new ball game for them right?
You know what I mean?
[Siren]
[Reporter] In the past year, Canada's opioid crisis has become even deadlier.
Striking all communities and demographics.
And there's been a growing call for a drastic change.
Decriminalization.
Which means those who are found with small amounts of drugs
would no longer face criminal charges.
[B.C. Premier] So I've made it clear to the prime minister where British Columbia stands.
[Reporter] B.C. has called for it and so has Vancouver City Council.
Even the Canadian Association of the Chiefs of Police is pushing to decriminalize
simple possession.
In recent years, the number of people being charged has declined.
Still in 2019, more than 18,000 Canadians were charged with possession.
[Man] I've heard so many people, politicians, medical practitioners say
that this is a health issue.
I don't know any other health issue where people actually get punished
and go to jail because of it.
[Reporter] It might not look like it as you watch Guy Felicella play with his young family
but when he speaks about the stigma around drug use
he's speaking from experience.
A lot of it.
How many times have you had to say goodbye to people this year because of overdoses?
This year, honestly I can't even count.
It breaks my heart because I'd been there for so long
and I just know the struggle and the pain with that.
[Reporter] He first started using as a teenager
and spent more than 20 years roaming a two-block radius
on Vancouver's downtown east side.
Going in and out of jail.
[Man] We don't want people fixing in the laneways
because it makes us look bad.
Makes us like we're not doing our job.
[Reporter] Back then policing might have looked different
but many of the problems were the same.
Felicella overdosed six times before finally going for treatment in 2013.
[Felicella] Hey, what's your future looking like, buddy?
Pretty good, eh?
[Reporter] Today he's an advisor with the B.C. Centre for Substance Use
and a vocal advocate for decriminalization.
[Felicella] I know that the difference it would have made in my life
would have been astronomical
Would definitely make one feel supported
and definitely give them the ability to reach out much sooner.
[Reporter] And that's also why Emilia Fowler pushed so hard for it in Oregon.
[Emilia] This was as I was deploying to Afghanistan in 2014.
[Reporter] Her father died of a fentanyl overdose two years ago.
[Fowler] 61, really young.
Putting people in jail ruins families
when treatment can help families.
[Reporter] Fowler was one of the community organizers pushing for Measure 110.
[News anchor] Oregon became the first state in the country to decriminalize.
[Reporter] It was passed last November and comes into effect February 1st.
The change means that anyone caught with a small amount of drugs in Oregon
including heroin, methamphetamine and ecstasy won't face a criminal penalty.
Instead of going to jail they'll be fined $100.
And that can be waived if they agree to go through a health assessment.
[Fowler] I absolutely believe that he would still be here today
had certain resources been made available to him.
[Reporter] Oregon has one of the highest rates of substance use in the U.S.
And it's among the lowest spenders on treatment.
Part of the new law requires the government to direct more funds towards recovery services.
What we're doing right now isn't working.
I have seen firsthand how having a criminal record can impact you
in every single way.
[Reporter] In Canada, the federal government says it's reviewing the request
to end criminal penalties.
We know that there is no one solution to stopping the opioid epidemic.
[Reporter] The prime minister has described decriminalization as not a silver bullet
but Benjamin Perrin believes it's cruel not to move on it while people are still dying.
[Perrin] The current law is indefensible.
Right?
Show me the peer-reviewed evidence that criminalizing people who use drugs works.
[Reporter] Perrin has done extensive research on the opioid crisis
but before that he worked for a year as legal counsel for Stephen Harper.
He says it became clear to him arresting people for addiction is senseless.
The buck stops with the prime minister.
The reason that he's he's afraid of decriminalizing drugs
which we know is the right thing to do and the evidence points towards
is because the federal conservatives have in the past demonized people who use drugs.
I'm just here to say, that's wrong.
Like that cannot continue.
[Reporter] But even without action from the federal government
change is already happening.
The public prosecution service told federal lawyers
to avoid prosecuting simple drug possession
unless there are major safety concerns.
[Sgt. Murray] So we just want to check in and see how you guys are doing?
If you needed anything?
[Reporter] B.C. has directed all of its police to consider a harm-reduction approach
instead of criminal penalties.
In Abbotsford, Sgt. Murray says they're already doing that
He doesn't feel it sends any kind of harmful message about drug use.
[Sgt. Murray] I'm not sure that decriminalizing simple possession
has the effect of condoning drug use.
I'm still not a fan every time I come across somebody
who's smoking heroin in front of me.
That just signals to me that there are more complex issues at play.
We can get this all done.
[Reporter] On this morning, the team discovered the couple in this tent
had lost some I.D. which is making it difficult to get social assistance.
[Sgt. Murray] We got to make it work sister.
[Woman] Yup, we do.
[Sgt. Murray] Right?
We got to get that cheque in.
[Reporter] An example, Murray says, of what the priority is now.
Instead of only enforcing the law
they're trying to connect people with the help they need.
Briar Stewart, CBC News, Abbotsford, B.C.