(SHELBY THEVENOT / iNFOnews.ca)

The City of Kamloops is set to put a ban on public drug use as it responds to the decriminalized possession of certain drugs in the province.

City council will consider adopting the ban next week, but it won't apply on provincially owned property even if it's adopted.

Councillors voted on the ban earlier this year, but staff continue to work through the specifics of how that will be enforced and where it would apply.

A recent staff report suggested the ban will prohibit both the use or "display" of controlled substances in public parks, urban forests and beaches, or any sidewalk within 100 metres of those places. The same will also apply to swimming pools, water playgrounds and wading pools.

READ MORE: Interior Health asks local governments to pause plans to ban open drug use in parks

It does offer some places where drugs can be used publicly, however.

"Expressly exempted from this prohibition are all supervised consumption and overdose prevention locations and facilities operated by or on behalf of Interior Health, BC Housing, or any other governmental authority," the staff report reads, allowing for drug use on Crown property within Kamloops.

The drug use ban bylaw was proposed in March by Coun. Katie Neustaeter, responding to the province's decriminalization pilot project.

It began earlier this year, allowing possession of up to 2.5 grams of opioids, crack, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA.

READ MORE: Kamloops bylaw officer fined after hitting pedestrian

It's scheduled to continue until Jan. 31, 2026, but it was met with municipalities that began pitching their own bylaws to restrict drug use in public spaces, including Penticton and Sicamous.

Council is set to vote on whether to adopt the bylaw on Sept. 12, which would give bylaw officers the authority to move people along who are using drugs and to potentially fine them. The amount someone could be fined isn't included in the staff report.

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