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This article was published 12/8/2017 (1135 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Initially slated to address the national opioid crisis, the majority of questions addressed during Friday’s roundtable discussion centred on the legalization of recreational marijuana.

Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Larry Maguire and Conservative Party of Canada health critic Rachael Harder headed the roundtable discussion at the Trails West Inn, whose question period quickly pushed aside the opioid crisis, which hasn’t impacted Brandon as heavily as it has some other areas of the nation.

There were 2,458 opioid-related deaths in Canada last year, of which 24 were in Manitoba.

While opioid remains a concern anywhere, Brandon Police Chief Ian Grant clarified that the main drug of "serious concern" at the moment locally is crystal meth.

Housing First co-ordinator Kris Desjarlais supported this assessment, later adding, "The clients that we have the worst results with are the ones struggling with crystal meth."

Local mother Kim Longstreet, whose son is addicted to crystal meth, said after Friday’s meeting that the city’s lack of a detox centre for those struggling with drug addiction is a serious gap in services she’d like to see addressed.

She’s hosting a public meeting at Brandon City Hall on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. in order draw attention to this shortcoming.

But, those attending Friday’s meeting were more intent on discussing the proposed legalization of recreational marijuana under Bill C-45, which still carries a great number of unanswered questions, despite it expecting to take hold by next year.

One of Harder’s main criticisms was its provision that youth people may carry up to five grams and not be prosecuted. "Is it OK or is it not OK for our youth to possess," she asked.

Grant said that he has additional concerns about this as it relates to what they do with marijuana once they seize it from youths, asking whether they will be expected to return it to the youth afterward, since a charge would not be laid.

Ambiguity around where funding for the costs associated with legalizing recreational marijuana remains of concern to Maguire, who pledged to do what he can to seek answers on his return to Ottawa next month.

TYLER CLARKE/THE BRANDON SUN Brandon Police Service Chief Ian Grant sheds light on what police officers’ concerns are as they relate to the legalization of recreational marijuana.

He said that he’s concerned that costs will be downloaded by the federal government onto the provinces and municipalities.

Grant affirmed Maguire’s concerns during Friday’s meeting, explaining that the Brandon police department will have to train more members as Drug Recognition Experts when legalization comes into play.

Testing people for drugs in cases such as impaired driving is "very, very complicated," he said, repeating the words "complicated" and "complex" a number of times in addressing the gap in knowledge that many people —police included —currently have in addressing the problem.

The department currently sends people to Arizona to train as Drug Recognition Experts, which he said takes up to month’s time and is "not cheap."

While Desjarlais argued that there are already people consuming marijuana and that legalization would not drastically increase the number of people doing so, Grant said that he remains concerned about an influx of marijuana users once it has been "normalized" through legalization.

Recognizing that Friday’s meeting only grazed the surface of what issues may arise with the legalization of recreational marijuana, Maguire has scheduled five more public meetings on the topic for this month. Meetings will be held:

• Aug. 20, 7 p.m. at the West End Community Centre;

• Aug. 21, 3 p.m. at the Holland Community Hall;

• Aug. 21, 7 p.m. at the Killarney United Church Hall;

• Aug. 22, 7 p.m. at the Deloraine Mountain View Country Inn;

• Aug. 23, 7 p.m. at the Virden Legion Hall.

Anyone interested in learning more about the proposed legalization of recreational marijuana, or to weigh their insights or concerns into the mix, is encouraged to attend. Maguire said that he plans on relaying his findings in Ottawa when the House of Commons resumes their session next month.

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB