Saskatoon police to report on expanding harm reduction – including drug decriminalization
The Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners has asked the Saskatoon Police Service to report on ways to expand harm reduction, including decriminalization of simple possession of illicit drugs.
“Evidence-based approaches to expanded harm reduction in other jurisdictions that could include decriminalization, safe supply, and increased diversion of drug related charges that could provide further lessons for addressing this crisis in Saskatoon,” reads a portion of a motion the board passed at its meeting Thursday.
The board also wants to know how many individual, simple possession criminal charges have been laid in the past three years and how many drug charges were laid when someone is searched while being arrested for a different crime.
The report is to clarify that decriminalization does not mean the drugs become legal and enforcement will still take place when someone is using illegal substances in a public place.
Police are also being asked to report back on potential resources from other levels of government.
Advocates have been asking the board to support the decriminalization of drug possession for personal use.
Do you have a story idea or news tip? Email us.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.