After the Guelph Police Service announced a plan to step up drug enforcement in downtown Guelph, business owners are sharing their thoughts on the plan.

Iside Dallan has owned the Apple Salon on Wilson Street in Guelph for almost thirty years. She has seen how different downtown has become.

“Things have definitely changed and seeing open drug use is definitely a concern,” Dallan said. “Some of my guests don’t feel as comfortable coming downtown as they used to.”

Police say they receive daily complaints about open drug use downtown and residents who don’t feel safe in the area. In response, additional officers have been assigned to the downtown area and, where legal grounds exist, police say they will make arrests and seize controlled substances.

“It’s time for change and it’s time for us to work together as a community. I think the citizens of Guelph are fed up with what is happening. I’m really happy that the police are finally starting to intervene,” Dallan said.

Police released information on Tuesday about two Guelph men who were arrested and now face drug and drug trafficking charges. Dallan said while there is no single answer to tackling addictions, something needs to change.

“They need help and we need to help them. We also need to come together as a community, as we do,” Dallan said.

While some companies support the idea of ​​police arresting people for open drug use. Others say they don’t think it will make a difference.

“We’ve definitely had people with drug problems come into the store. Sometimes we had thefts,” said Shelly Thompson, a staff member at Wild Rose Consignment Clothing on Macdonnell Street.

Thompson said that while the store had resolved some issues, they were generally harmless and she thought shutting down downtown users wouldn’t help.

“I think it could cause more problems, but I really don’t have a solution in mind,” Thompson said.

At least one other business owner, who did not want to be on camera, told CTV News that without better social services available, arresting drug users would not have much effect.

The police have no time limit on how long they plan to maintain this additional enforcement.