ABC Vancouver wants to 'reestablish social norms' around public drug use, but rivals question the party's record so far

ABC Vancouver’s plan for cracking down on public drug use includes telling police to write tickets and confiscate substances, but not arresting the drug users or expecting them to pay any fines.

Vancouver’s reigning party unveiled part of its campaign platform on Monday, which included more details about how the party plans to proceed if voters support what ABC calls its “public safety plebiscite” for the municipal election ballot on Oct. 17.

ABC announced the plebiscite questions in August, but few details had been available about what would actually happen if the party were re-elected to a council majority and the public votes “yes” on the proposed measures.

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On Monday, ABC Vancouver candidates distributed a 22-page booklet detailing the proposal. If voters support the plebiscite, Vancouver council would have a “clear mandate,” ABC said, to authorize police to write tickets for the public use of hard drugs like fentanyl and meth, and confiscate and dispose of the drugs.

ABC’s campaign literature recommends the bylaw ticket should be set at zero dollars.

“This is not about collecting fines,” Mayor Ken Sim said. “This is about re-establishing social norms or social expectations in public spaces.”

Although drug users who receive tickets will not be expected to pay monetary penalties, police will take their information and track repeat offenders, ABC’s campaign material says, “helping identify patterns of behaviour and informing decisions on whether stronger interventions under existing laws are warranted.”

This approach means police could confiscate hard drugs without needing to arrest the user and take them to jail for processing, which could take up most of their shift, ABC’s campaign material states. “The threat of hard drug seizures will act as a severe and tangible deterrent to those who seek to use in a public space.”