Motion to decriminalize the possession of drugs on the agenda at Regina police board meeting

The motion to decriminalize simple possession of drugs like fentanyl is on the agenda at Regina's Board of Police Commissioners meeting Tuesday. 

"We just have to look at the harm of the war on drugs. We just have to look at the staggering number and growth of overdose and addictions in the city," said councillor Andrew Stevens, who put the motion forward.  

From January to July this year, there have been 933 occurrences of overdoses in Regina, with police attending to 174 cases. 

The federal government has agreed to discuss drug decriminalization with municipalities. Vancouver already sent in its submission seeking a federal exemption to decriminalizing simple possession of drugs.

Stevens's motion in Regina was inspired by Vancouver. He said he wants to work toward a more inclusive and representative policy. 

It would involve the Board of Police Commissioners and Regina police working with the city, harm reduction experts, community organizations and the Saskatchewan Health Authority to research and examine the feasibility of decriminalizing simple illicit drug possession. 

While Regina has its first overdose prevention site, the Nēwo Yōtina Friendship Centre, Stevens said there's still stigma,. He said decriminalization plays a role in the larger harm reduction model that needs to be advanced.  

"There could be a fear of people using that site who are worried about actually being prosecuted for possession," he said. 

The Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners already passed a motion earlier this month to research decriminalizing simple drug possession. 

Jason Mercredi, the executive director of Prairie Harm Reduction in Saskatoon, said too many people have been lost in the war on drugs.

"The verdict is in that we lost the war, and drugs won, so we need to find proactive ways to deal with the opioid crisis and crystal meth crisis," he said. 

"Decriminalization is definitely one of the tools in the tool belt."

He said often, when people see police coming ,they'll throw out the drug, but then will go out and commit crimes to get the money needed to get the drugs again.

The issue of overdose hits close to home for many people. 

Marie Agioritis, a harm reduction advocate in Saskatoon, lost her son to a fentanyl overdose in 2015. 

Since then, she has worked to make sure the same thing doesn't happen to other children. 

Agioritis said is happy that there are going to be conversations around decriminalizing drugs in Regina. 

"Decriminalization is such a scary word for people to hear.... It seems to imply some kind of a rampant loosey-goosey idea on taking the criminalization out of drug use and drug sales," she said. 

"That's not it all, if we are looking at personal amounts of drug."

Agioriti said decriminalization can make people less fearful of the police when they come across them in the case of an overdose. 

Overdoses in Regina, January - July 2021

Of the 993 overdoses in the city, the majority — 66 per cent — happened in the central area. There were also 72 apparent deaths, and of those deaths a majority of them were men (61 per cent).

In the month of July, there was 182 overdose events. Police attended to 25 of them, leaving 156 overdose events unattended.