RCMP search warrant details alleged trade of safe supply for illicit drugs

RCMP in the northern B.C. city of Prince George spent 10 days last month mounting a surveillance operation on a woman who allegedly stood outside a downtown pharmacy each morning trading illicit drugs for safe supply medication.

According to a search warrant obtained by CBC, police saw the 58-year-old suspect make dozens of "hand-to-hand" transactions in that time — both buying and selling prescribed pills worth up to $20 a tablet on the street.

The court documents cite the pharmacy manager who told police that "many of his patients are accosted by individuals outside of the pharmacy in the mornings by people who are trying to purchase the safe supply drugs."

"Since the inception of the 'safe supply' program, he has observed vehicles and people loitering outside of the store trying to purchase safe supply drugs from patients," the information sworn to obtain the warrant reads.

"The sale and exchange has only gotten worse and has been for the past year or more."

The documents provide insight into an issue that turned into a political firestorm last month as B.C.'s solicitor general traded barbs with federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre over the program, which offers prescription alternatives to people at risk of overdose from street drugs.

Advocates for safe supply have long acknowledged the possibility some users might exchange their prescription drugs for stronger street drugs — a practice known as "diversion."

But the extent of any associated problems is unknown.

The issue hit the headlines in early March when Prince George RCMP issued a news release saying they were seeing "an alarming trend" involving organized criminals redistributing drugs intended for the safe supply program.

The next day, B.C. RCMP assistant commissioner John Brewer countered with a statement to the effect that there was "no evidence to support a widespread diversion" of legally prescribed substances to the illegal drug market.

But by that point, both Poilievre and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith had weighed in — leading B.C. Solicitor General Mike Farnworth to criticize them for making claims without waiting for information.

The search warrant obtained by CBC relates to a case publicized by Prince George RCMP Monday — a probe initiated March 6 when officers "began investigating the illicit drug trade" in front of the IDA Third Avenue Pharmacy.

CBC is not naming the suspect, who has been arrested but not charged. According to the court documents, she has no criminal record, but was flagged in three other police files in 2023 involving another female suspect.

Last summer, the two women were accused of trading prescription drugs for fentanyl. They were also accused of selling heroin out of cigarette packages.