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. - ------------------------------------- [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 - --- MAP posted-by: Matt