Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners to discuss drug decriminalization
Global News
The Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners is set to receive a report during its next meeting that looks at how removing penalties for drug possession could affect addiction.
The Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners is scheduled to discuss drug decriminalization in the city.
The policy of removing penalties for people carrying and using small amounts of drugs is on the agenda for the upcoming meeting, scheduled to take place this Thursday.
The board, comprised of city councillors and residents, will receive a report from the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) wherein police examined how the policy change could impact the city and policing.
The report states decriminalization is not an effort to ignore the impact of illicit drugs on a community but that it aims to ensure people who possess small amounts of illegal substances not face legal issues for what is health-related behaviour.
It also states the “threat of arrest/criminalization increases the likelihood of drug use in unsupervised locations, which in turn raises the risk of overdoses” and that a “criminal charge for possession of a small amount of illegal substances also places them in a justice system not adequately suited to deal with addiction and health challenges.”
It concludes by stating decriminalization would impact the local health system, support services and judiciary, and states the “Saskatoon Police Service is not adequately equipped to evaluate” the implications for those entities.
It also recommended board members read a study by two University of Saskatchewan professors.
Barb Fornssler, one of the authors, told Global News decriminalization still entails a role for law enforcement, especially with regards to drug trafficking.
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