FILE PHOTO - Vernon North Okanagan RCMP Supt. Shawna Baher poses for a photo.

(CHARLOTTE HELSTON / iNFOnews.ca)

While the decriminalization of small amounts of hard drugs has been controversial, Vernon RCMP Supt. Shawna Baher says it's been at least 15 years since the police prosecuted anyone for drug possession.

Supt. Baher made the comment at a City of Vernon council meeting Monday, Feb. 27, telling the politicians it had been "about 15 to 20 years" since the police had recommended charges for simple possession.

However, the North Okanagan's top cop didn't appear to be overly supportive of decriminalization and said the province's move to decriminalize small amounts of hard drugs had in some ways held them back.

"We will no longer arrest individuals when we see them if we believe they are utilizing the drugs for possession, that negates us being unable to stop an individual and deal with them," Supt. Baher told the meeting.

"No one is against the decriminalization of controlled substances but it has to go hand in hand with something else, it has to get a deal with the toxic drug supply, and unless we deal with the toxic drug supply were stopping engagement with individuals that might be that person that we're able to get a referral into services."

On Jan. 31, British Columbia became the first province in Canada to decriminalize small amounts of hard drugs. Anyone found with less than 2.5 grams of heroin or fentanyl, cocaine or crack cocaine, along with MDMA, often called ecstasy, or methamphetamine will no longer be arrested.

READ MORE: What to know about B.C. decriminalizing possession of drugs for personal use

Supt. Baher said it was already common practice for police to put people in touch with services if they were found to have drugs on them.

She said police have now been given additional resource cards from the province about local support for addiction. However, it appears those extra resources don't yet exist.

"(The province) advised they'd be a robust monitoring and evaluation framework which we haven't seen," Supt. Baher said adding "obviously" it's early on.

"To hand out a resource card if that resource doesn’t exist is futile, so one of the things I'm looking for is what resources do you have coming in (and) actually meeting that person where they are at," she said.

Supt. Baher said there were "missed opportunities" but also recognized the opioid crisis. Last year 40 people died from opioid use in Vernon, and in 2021, 42 people died.

READ MORE: Drug decriminalization isn't radical, it's already here in the Thompson-Okanagan

She also took aim at the toxic drug supply.

"I don't believe this in itself will change the opioid crisis unless we do something about the toxic drug supply and there's nothing being done about the toxic drug supply."

She also pointed out how decriminalization will strip police of some of the tools they ordinarily used to catch drug dealers.

When a known crack house is operating in an area, police will arrest someone leaving with drugs on them and then use that information to obtain a warrant and raid the property.

"That's now been taken away from us," she said.

The top cop also said if someone spends a night in the cells, when released police, they will have to give them their possessions back, including any hard drugs they may have had on them.

"That's something I struggle with," she said.

The rationale behind drug decriminalization has been to take the stigma away from drug addiction and encourage addicts to get help.

READ MORE: Drug users say B.C. 'fight continues' during decriminalization amid safe supply calls

"There are a lot of things that are basically stigmatizing and are still legal... so my making this decriminalized I don't necessarily think this will do everything that it wants to do in relation to having people get help, but if it saves one person... obviously we support that."

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