A man reaches with a pair of tongs underneath a large rock and grabs a bundle of needles, dropping them into a yellow disposal bin.
“This may be a record,” he says.
It’s a Monday morning in October and staff at a St. John’s community centre are doing their daily sweeps, to keep used needles out of areas used by children.
“In the last three years we definitely had an extreme uprise [of] even more of the drug paraphernalia being seen around the area,” said Enid Pendergast, executive director of the Froude Avenue Community Centre.
If you haven’t seen it yourself, like Pendergast, you’ve likely seen it online. Social media is awash with photos and comments about open drug use and discarded needles littering public parks and benches, prompting questions about public drug consumption and the law.
There are a skyrocketing number of reports citing discarded needles and open drug use to the capital city’s hotline, 311. Records obtained through access-to-information show there were over 1,000 calls to the city about needles and open consumption over the last two years. That’s a dramatic increase from 2016, when there were 181 such reports.
But data from Statistics Canada shows federal prosecutors are handling fewer simple drug possession cases across the country than ever before. In Newfoundland and Labrador, there has been an overall 10-year decline.
The drop in prosecutions — and the apparent rise in open usage — coincides with a Public Prosecution Service of Canada policy change in 2020 directing prosecutors away from laying criminal charges for drug possession, according to police officials and experts who spoke with CBC News.
A staff member of the Froude Avenue Community Centre picks up a bundle of used needles one Monday morning in October. (Ted Dillon/CBC)
The Froude Avenue Community Centre is centrally located in St. John’s, and has paths coming to and from main thoroughfares like Blackmarsh and Mundy Pond roads and Campbell Avenue.
“Maybe we’re like a hideaway spot or a comfortable spot … where people come to do whatever it is that they need to do and the stuff just kind of gets left behind,” Pendergast said in a recent interview.
An increase in public consumption and discarded needles has changed the way the centre runs their operations and allows children in their care to play. A couple of winters ago, kids in afterschool programs were unable to play in the snow over concerns of needles hiding underneath.
They’ve had to fence in their backyard to avoid open drug use on their premises, and children are no longer allowed to walk back and forth alone from nearby schools. That decision was made two years ago, when children came to Pendergast with a concern.
Enid Pendergast is the executive director of the Froude Avenue Community Centre. (Ted Dillon/CBC)
“The children said, ‘Hey Miss, we just saw someone and they were in the pathway,’ and they knew that they were using,” she recalled.
Having spent decades working at the centre, Pendergast says she’s also noticed another change. Attitudes of those openly using have shifted in recent years — a development that has made her more cautious in her approach.
“Before, in the past years, [it was] always so much easier in going talking to people, I believe because they didn’t want children to see what they were doing, honestly. Before, if you had to speak to them, they would gladly put something away,” she said.
“Over the last year, I would not go out and ask anybody now to move or put those things away because the response back just isn’t the same.”
And Pendergast says it’s not a problem solely in her area. She has run into issues on field trips with the children in parks around the city.
Pendergast says it’s a tough balance — keeping kids safe, while understanding the problems are complex. She says she doesn’t judge, knows that addiction is a disease, and believes the support isn’t sufficient for those who want it.
Why open drug use may not result in criminal charges
The law also views substance use as a health issue — not a criminal one. The principle is rooted in updated guidelines in 2020 by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.
It advises prosecutors to prioritize health alternatives and diversion over criminal charges.
They reserve that for cases that pose serious risks to public safety.
“Criminal sanctions, as a primary response, have a limited effectiveness as specific or general deterrents and as a means of addressing the public safety concerns when considering the harmful effects of criminal records and short periods of incarceration,” reads a section from the PPSC guidelines.
It’s not outright decriminalization, as has been piloted and ditched in British Columbia, but provides a higher threshold for prosecution.
Victoria Police Chief Constable Fiona Wilson co-chairs the drug advisory committee of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. (Kathryn Marlow/CBC)
The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police agrees — substance use is a health issue. But without providing alternatives to criminal charges, they say police are left with few options.
The association walked back its support of B.C.’s decriminalization pilot project years after it began, because it said the policy lacked adequate guardrails around public consumption.
Victoria Police Chief Constable Fiona Wilson, who also co-chairs the association’s drug advisory committee, says the PPSC guidelines present a challenge for police.
“We don’t want to introduce people to the criminal justice system simply by virtue of a substance use disorder,” Wilson told CBC News.
“I also feel really strongly, and I think police leadership across this country feels strongly, that our public spaces ought to be accessible and safe and usable by all members in our community.”
Wilson says part of the problem is that there are a “significant lack of alternatives,” aside from bringing someone to a supervised injection site. And drug courts are only useful once someone has entered the criminal justice system.
“I’ve really come to this place where — although I am really apprehensive to dial back the clock in terms of arresting people and introducing them to the criminal justice system for simple possession — I deeply wish that there was an alternative for our police officers,” she said.
Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Insp. Ryan Pittman says the police force’s stance on public drug use is that it is a criminal offence, but notes that laying charges is not a straightforward decision. (Ted Dillon/CBC)
Back in St. John’s, Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Insp. Ryan Pittman says the RNC’s stance is that drug possession is an offence and will be treated as such.
However, having the proper evidence to take a case to court isn’t as straightforward.
“When we’re dealing with these situations we actually have to see the person consume a drug or be in possession of a drug,” Pittman said. “That’s hard to do and justify without a statement, or from someone who wants to be anonymous.”
Pittman says all cases are different, and officers are left balancing enforcement and public health.
“Our number one priority is public safety. These open use areas are in public areas that the public — rightfully so — want to feel free and safe when they go to these. And if we can see someone using open drugs or open anything in the public area, it’s our job to deal with that.”
Dealing with it doesn’t necessarily mean criminal charges, Pittman says. As an example, if there are children in the area, officers would make an arrest and seize any drugs, then use discretion on whether to lay charges based on legal criteria.
The force has heard loud and clear that there are concerns over open drug use — though Pittman stops short of saying there is an increase without the numbers to back it up.
“It’s our job to listen to what the community wants and to prioritize and strategically align our resources with those issues,” Pittman said. “And we’ve been doing that.”
He points to increased patrols, covert surveillance, and using the mobile crisis unit in the area around the Gathering Place.
There are safe disposal boxes located around the city where individuals can discard of used needles. However, there continue to be concerns surrounding needles littering public areas. (Ted Dillon/CBC)
The shelter has become a focal point for those criticizing the lack of action on open drug use.
In response, the non-profit organization and City of St. John’s announced a pilot project that pays guests for cleaning up needles and litter.
Gathering Place users will pick up litter, needles as part of new pilot project in St. John’s
Gathering Place executive director Colin McNeil says he doesn’t condone open drug use but if someone is homeless, they may have few other options.
McNeil — a former deputy chief of the RNC — doesn’t believe charging them is appropriate.
“Really and truly, what are we trying to address here? It’s a catch and release game … someone gets arrested, they go to court, they’re out the next day doing the same thing,” McNeil said in a recent interview with CBC News.
“So, what have we done? We just clogged up our justice system with a health-related issue.”
McNeil knows the complications of policing drug cases first hand, and believes people have to be held accountable for using openly — but how?
“We need to come up with better options. And what are they? I haven’t figured that out yet. Neither has the rest of the country.”
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