'Not ready': Alberta police association says it won't support drug decriminalization
As others in Canada start to take steps towards new personal possession rules, Alberta's police association says it's too soon to decriminalize hard drugs in our province.
Calgary's top cop Mark Neufeld, speaking on behalf of the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police, says there's not enough evidence that shows the strategy alone will have an impact.
"By itself, decriminalization would not reduced rates of addiction or overdose," he said. "(It) triggers an immediate need for structural and societal changes in areas that do not currently exist."
The association says there is still work in health, social services and justice that needs to be done before rules can be overhauled. It believes premature changes will result in complaints and open public drug use that will lead to more work for officers.
"If you were to just pull sort of one lever, and it was going to be the decriminalization lever, all it would do is just make it easier to possess illicit drugs and also to see individuals using them in public," Neufeld said. "We're not ready."
Calgary police chief Mark Neufeld says the city isn't ready to decriminalize drugs
OPEN DRUG USE HAPPENING NOW: ADVOCATES
But while the chief is trying to save his officers added duties, many advocates point out that policing work is already embedded in drug use effects -- and decriminalization would be a step to remedying that.
Across the country in 2018 to 2020, almost 28,000 annual arrests were made for possession.
"We're making people's lives very miserable if they use drugs," advocate Euan Thomson told CTV News. "With a new strategy, drug use will likely go down, people will gain stability in their lives and as their human rights are restored, and our communities will actually become safer."
Thomson points to Portugal, where decades-old decriminalization can be directly linked to a decrease in overdose deaths and drug use in teens, and to an increase in those seeking treatment.
"Decriminalization is very much needed, even if it's on its own," Thomson said. "Just like we saw with cannabis legalization, the sky is not going to fall on the day you decriminalize all drugs."
The City of Vancouver has applied for an exemption from the federal controlled substances act so it can update its personal possession rules.
British Columbia applied to the federal government in November to remove criminal penalties for people who possess small amounts of illicit drugs for personal use. The province argued that substance abuse and addiction is a public health issue, not a criminal one.
Since B.C. declared a public health emergency in 2016, 7,700 British Columbians have died because of a toxic drug supply.
Toronto's board of health said it would also seek permission from the federal government to allow drug users to carry small amounts for personal use.
Calgary's police chief expects many more cities will also explore that option.
"We're aware that other provinces have submitted requests to Health Canada seeking an exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that would decriminalize personal possession of illicit drugs. These are conversations that are ongoing in our province as well,'' said Neufeld.
"I'm not concerned that this is moving forward in any way that's imminent. It is a discussion that has been ongoing for the last number of years, which has been intensified obviously by the drug poisonings and opioid overdoses."
As of now, no changes are imminent in Alberta.
With files from The Canadian Press .
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.