Canadian politician concerned schools could *discourage* children from using drugs

B.C. NDP MLA Stephanie Higginson is opposing proposed legislation from a Conservative MLA that would make anti-drug education mandatory in schools, warning it risks reviving outdated, fear-based strategies.

Speaking in the legislature, the Ladysmith–Oceanside representative criticized Bill M 213, the Drug Use Prevention Education in Schools Act, which would require B.C. schools to deliver curriculum discouraging drug use as part of the province’s response to an overdose crisis that claimed more than 2,500 lives last year.

“In fact, it reminds me of the 1980s-era scared straight that was in place when I was young,” Higginson said. “It risks undermining the very outcomes it seeks to achieve. The bill mandates a curriculum that explicitly discourages drug use and promotes stigma against drug use as a deterrent. This language is deeply concerning. We know from decades of research and experience that stigmatizing drug use does not prevent it.”

Higginson’s comments reflect the partisan divide over how to address B.C.’s toxic-drug emergency. The governing NDP has faced criticism for its harm-reduction policies, including decriminalization, which opponents say have failed to stem deaths.

Over the past 20 years, an estimated 20,000 to 22,000 people have died from drug overdoses in British Columbia. According to the BC Coroners Service, more than 16,000 deaths have occurred since the province declared its public-health emergency in 2016, with another 1,100-plus deaths already recorded in 2025.

In the decade before that, annual fatalities ranged from about 200 to 500, adding roughly 3,000 additional deaths to the total. Together, these figures highlight the scale and persistence of B.C.’s toxic-drug crisis, which remains the province’s leading cause of unnatural death and one of the most severe public-health emergencies in Canadian history.

Before entering provincial politics, Higginson served on the Nanaimo-Ladysmith Board of Education and as president of the B.C. School Trustees’ Association.