Vancouver‘s police chief said he’ll follow the federal government’s lead on cannabis legalization.
Chief constable Adam Palmer said the VPD has already taken a softer approach to cannabis enforcement in the city.
“My focus, since I’ve been chief, and with the prior chief as well, the focus was on more serious drugs like fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin and the violence associated to that,” Palmer said.
Palmer said the police have already changed their approach to softer drugs based on changing community attitudes and will be ready when legalization comes.
“In all the surveys that we’ve seen in recent years, the vast majority of people support some sort of legalization or regulation on marijuana — decriminalization — however that may look,” said Palmer.
The VPD is currently in the midst of seeking public feedback for the creation of their five-year operational plan.
“There will be some things that are irksome to the general public and things they don’t want to see in their general neighbourhood, but we will have to balance that against the totality of everything we do as a police agency,” the police chief said.
Citizens can voice their opinion by filling out the Vancouver Police’s online survey.