Scientists and police in British Columbia are working together on what they hope will be a game-changing “chemical fingerprinting” program to track the source and destination of individual batches of illicit drugs.

A lab at the University of British Columbia will use artificial intelligence to generate “actionable insights” for police, and predict how illicit drugs are moving across the province.

But while information from the two-year pilot program can be used to further investigations, it won’t be used in prosecutions, and nor will drugs obtained from prosecuted cases be part of the testing.

A government official says in a background briefing that the technology will give police a more timely and detailed analysis of drugs on the streets.

The province will fund the project with $300,000 per year.

Documents say data from the project will also help generate earlier warnings for “faster and better-informed public health alerts.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press