Decriminalizing drugs for personal use would help people find help, keep jobs: Sask. advocate
Advocates are asking the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners to support the decriminalization of drug possession for personal use.
Marie Agioritis and others have penned letters to the police board, which is meeting Thursday, asking them to consider this step towards changing laws around drug possession.
Agioritis, the Saskatchewan leader for Moms Stop the Harm, told CTV News that decriminalization could help alleviate the pressures felt by the criminal justice system and give those with mental health issues and addictions a chance to seek help.
“When we decriminalize simple possession we haven’t got people running away from the police or being afraid to walk into an emergency room when they need help, or being afraid to walk into recovery services,” Agioritis said.
“Imagine you’re a young guy and you’re afraid to go forward because you could lose your job or you might lose certain benefits as a result,” Agioritis said.
Those caught with drugs for personal use are tagged with a criminal record after an arrest and that could make it almost impossible to find employment she said.
She said mental health and addictions span across all age ranges and backgrounds.
“We need to quit criminalizing them because it’s not working, the deaths are going up, the crime rates are going up and the stress on our police officers is going up. We need to change it up,” she said.
The board issued a notice of motion calling on city police to look at evidence-based approaches to expanded harm reductions in other jurisdictions.
Those include decriminalization, safe supply and increased diversion of drug-related charges that could improve the drug crisis in Saskatoon.
In November, Vancouver City Council unanimously voted to decriminalize simple drug possession.
Saskatoon police Chief Troy Cooper said the motion will be discussed and voted on in August. Cooper added it’s important the police service along with its partners look at how it shifts drug possession from the criminal justice system to healthcare.
Cooper mentioned his office has received memos from public prosecutions to focus more attention on larger drug trafficking offences rather than simple drug possession, but charges still fall on simple possession if there are other criminal elements involved.
“If it was a simple solution it would be something that can happen quickly but we recognize that you can’t just simply decriminalize drug possession without having some other solution in place,” Cooper said.
The police board heard how the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police is already endorsing a federal criminal code amendment for simple possession.
The federal New Democratic Party has also tabled a bill in Ottawa that would decriminalize an array of drugs as well as give Canadians the opportunity to clear criminal record convictions for drug possession.
Agioritis wants Saskatoon police to show its support to Ottawa favouring simple possession decriminalization.
The board received the letters as information.
Mayor Charlie Clark posted to his social media this week voicing his support for a similar decriminalization proposal happening in Vancouver.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
DEVELOPING Live updates from the Trump hush money trial: Stormy Daniels, bookkeeper testify
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is on the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Miss Teen USA steps down just days after Miss USA's resignation
Miss Teen USA resigned Wednesday, sending further shock waves through the pageant community just days after Miss USA said she would relinquish her crown.
Cyclist strikes child crossing the street to catch school bus in Montreal
A video circulating on social media of a young girl being hit by a bike has some calling for better safety and more caution when designing bike lanes in the city. The video shows a four-year-old girl crossing Jeanne-Mance Street in Montreal's Plateau neighbourhood to get on a school bus stopped on the opposite side of the street
B.C. wildfires likely to spread with weekend temperatures expected to soar, province says
Wildfire and emergency management officials in British Columbia are urging residents to be prepared for increased fire activity as temperatures are expected to soar above 30 C in parts of the province this weekend.
Wilfrid Laurier football player drafted despite only playing 27 games in his entire life
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.