Pubdate: Sat, 15 Oct 2016
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Copyright: 2016 The Leader-Post Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.leaderpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361
Author: Sean Trembath
Page: A3

NORTHERN SASK. REGION LEADS IN PER CAPITA POT POSSESSION CHARGES

A popular area of Northern Saskatchewan's lake country has the dubious
distinction of leading Canada in one marijuana statistic.

A Postmedia study of Statistics Canada numbers from more than 1,000
cities, towns and RCMP jurisdictions revealed that the Waskesiu Lake
region - which includes the resort town of Waskesiu, Prince Albert
National Park, Montreal Lake Cree Nation and other small communities -
had the highest per capita rate of marijuana possession charges in the
country in 2015.

Randy Kershaw, a member of the Waskesiu town council, said the town
itself did not see any visible increase in marijuana use during 2015,
stressing that the statistics cover a wide area.

"Marijuana is not a problem in Waskesiu. There has not been any
noticeable increase in its presence in the townsite, and the RCMP
statistics (as they relate to the Waskesiu townsite) bear that out,"
Kershaw said in an email.

Pot possession charges were laid against 19 people in the area in
2015, which translates to a rate of 1,903.81 charges per 100,000
people. This represented a 378 per cent increase in the area over 2014
and put the Waskesiu Lake region ahead of second-place Lake Louise,
Alta., (1,524.66/100,000) and third-place Jasper, Alta.,
(1,364.57/100,000).

Sgt. Wendell Houk of the Waskesiu Lake detachment said the statistic
surprised him and that he does not believe the area has a marijuana
problem. "To me it doesn't," Houk said. He acknowledged that in areas
with low populations, rate-based statistics can have large swings
despite what is actually a fairly low number of charges.

"When you're talking about low actual incidences, I could see where
the percentages look skewed," Houk said.

Peter Strawson, who owns a cafe in Waskesiu, agreed there was no
noticeable change in the town last year, but said marijuana and other
drugs are a bit of a concern for him as someone who employs young people.

"It has to do with trying to help them make the right decisions while
they're up here," he said.

Strawson also noted that all three of the communities with the highest
possession rates had resort areas in them.

He said he hopes the surprising statistic brings some awareness to
marijuana use in the community, but also acknowledged it's not a large
problem.

"Most people are simply not affected by this at all," he said.

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[sidebar]

SASK. RATES HIGH IN SEVERAL MARIJUANA CRIME STATISTICS

Postmedia's nationwide analysis of marijuana stats from more than 1,000 
communities revealed interesting findings for Saskatchewan:

4 - Saskatchewan communities in the top 20 for possession charges per
100,000 population. Waskesiu Lake (first), Southend (fifth), Wollaston
Lake (eighth) and Tisdale (17th).

1st - Saskatchewan's rank among all provinces for possession charges
per capita. The province also finished third in per capita trafficking
charges.

10% - Saskatchewanians in the most recent study from Statistics Canada
who said they had used marijuana in the last year, the lowest number
of any province. Nova Scotia was highest at 16 per cent.

3rd - Saskatoon's rank among Canada's 35 metropolitan cities for
possession charges per capita. The city was also sixth for trafficking
charges per 100,000 people.

6th - Regina's rank among the same 35 major cities for trafficking
charges per 100,000. Regina finished 12th for possession charges per
capita

23.27 - Number of import/export charges per 100,000 population in Fort
Qu'Appelle, the second most in the country, but far behind the top
municipality Milk River, Alta., which had 973.24 per 100,000
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MAP posted-by: Matt