Drug amnesty a response to 'crisis' situation, but not planned for Regina, says chief

There will no drug amnesty offered in the City of Regina, according to its police chief.

Evan Bray said he doesn't think too many people would be willing to show up at the front desk of the Regina Police Service headquarters to turn over illicit substances.

"We're not looking that. We haven't looked at doing that sort of an amnesty," Bray said on Thursday. 

Saskatoon and Prince Albert police offered drug amnesties after a string of overdoses led to three deaths earlier this week from drugs. Police suspect the drugs were laced with fentanyl.

Saskatoon police released the name and phone number of a suspected drug pusher named Lil Joe or Joe Bro. The phone that had the number is in police custody. Three people have been arrested in connection with the case.

"I'm not criticizing what they're doing up there. I think that their community expects them to do everything they can to keep that community safe," Bray said of the drug amnesties. 

He added that Saskatoon is in "crisis" after the deaths, which means covering every base they can.

"What we see for deaths in Saskatchewan is a fraction of what they've seen in Alberta, and that's even a fraction of what they've seen in B.C.," he added. "So we're worried about this trend moving out east."

An opioid crisis committee has been put together in the province to deal with the complexities of addiction and drugs in Saskatchewan. Instead of an amnesty, addressing addiction in the city needs to start at the root cause, Bray said.