NEW POLICY PUTS END TO DRUG USERS' ARRESTS

VANCOUVER -- Vancouver police are making it their official policy not
to arrest people for using drugs, but to focus instead on those who
sell and make them.

The new policy, unveiled Wednesday, also says drug prevention is one
pillar of the city's Four Pillars drug policy that is being overlooked.

"A person's behaviour, rather than the unlawful possession or use,
should be the primary factor in determining whether to lay a charge,"
Insp. Scott Thompson, the Vancouver Police Department's drug policy
co-ordinator, said Wednesday.

Other parts of the draft policy include:

- - Pursuing middle-level drug traffickers and those who produce drugs.

- - Looking at mandatory drug treatment and making treatment available on demand.

- - Supporting the needle exchange, the North American Opiate
Medication Initiative heroin trial and the safe injection site.

- - Supporting more drug education in public schools and protecting
kids from the effects of drug use.

- - Using drug courts for drug-addicted offenders.

Chief Constable Jamie Graham said the policy was drafted so that all
his officers would be on the same page when it comes to enforcement.

"Traffickers are evil," he said. "And if you traffic anywhere near a
school ground, near a playground, you're going to get charged.

"If you're a drug addict, that's one thing. But if you're a drug
addict who stands and bothers people, and overtly displays bad
behaviour, that's going to trigger the next stage," said Graham.

Police will not tolerate open drug use on school grounds, playgrounds
or in front of businesses.

But police have charged 120 people for using drugs in areas like
school grounds.

Deputy Chief Const. Doug LePard said officers will take drug users to
the safe-injection site instead of down to the station.

"It doesn't mean that we're not going to take action," he said.

Heather Hay, director of addictions for the Vancouver Coastal Health
Authority, praised the new policy as "leading edge" among police
forces worldwide.