Although the B.C. government is backtracking on many of its “harm reduction” initiatives, the province’s approach to open drug use in bathrooms suggests that tolerance of public consumption is rather entrenched and that ideology is being prioritized over evidence-based policymaking.

In October 2022, a group of harm reduction researchers released the “Safer Bathroom Toolkit,” which advocates that public bathrooms be made hospitable for drug users. The project was funded by Michael Smith Health Research BC, the province’s leading health research agency.