The Canadian province of British Columbia on Friday scrapped a much-criticized pilot program that allowed the open use of some illegal drugs, citing the need to maintain public safety.

VANCOUVER — The British Columbia government is asking Health Canada to “urgently change” the province’s decriminalization policy to stop drug use in public. Premier David Eby said Friday the change would make illicit drug use illegal in all public spaces, including inside hospitals, on transit and in parks.

British Columbia has asked the Canadian government to reintroduce a ban on public drug use, a major step back on a controversial experiment to decriminalize the possession of certain illegal drugs.

B.C. Premier David Eby announced Friday plans to recriminalize drug use in public spaces. He says while it is still important to help drug users, open drug use around kids

After weeks of troubling stories about problematic street drug use in hospitals, parks and at bus stops, the province of British Columbia announced plans to recriminalize the use of drugs in public places Friday — radically altering a pilot program aimed at addressing the toxic drug crisis.