Pubdate: Thu, 09 Nov 2000
Pubdate: November 9, 2000
Source: The Daily Courier (CN BC)
Copyright: 2000 The Daily Courier
Contact:  550 Doyle Ave., Kelowna, B.C. V1Y 7V1
Website: http://www.ok.bc.ca/dc/index.html
Author: Chuck Poulsen

COPS BUST SCHOOL DRUG RING

With drugs as easy to buy as potato chips, RCMP swept down on a gang of 
young dealers near Rutland Senior Secondary School Wednesday.

In what may be the first raid of its kind in Kelowna, police searched eight 
youths and an adult after staking out the grounds near the school. They 
arrested the adult male and three juvenile males, who now face charges of 
possession and trafficking.

RCMP Cpl. David Greig said members of the Priority Operational Support Team 
and Special Operations Unit watched as young people brazenly sold and used 
the drugs in the area just east of the school.

"We just sat back and watched as they lit up pipes and passed the joints 
around," said Greig. "We then approached a number of them as they left."

Greig said this was not an isolated case in Rutland.

"It's happening in all of our senior secondary schools and some middle 
schools too," he said.

School District 23 superintendent Ron Rubadeau said drug use among students 
in Kelowna, as with the rest of the province, has reached epidemic proportions.

He referred to a provincial study that found that 80 per cent of students 
had tried marijuana by Grade 10, rising to 95 per cent by Grade 12.

"We had Marvin Krank of OUC do a study for us that found the same thing," 
said Rubadeau. "Drug use is highly prevalent among our students. Are we 
concerned? We're concerned big-time.

"We're doing more in the way of education programs, but it's a tough 
battle. It's not the seedy person down the street selling it. It's mom and 
dad who are growing it. And it's not the marijuana of the '60s. It's more 
the strength of cocaine."

Rubadeau also called for harsher penalties for dealers, saying a fine for 
inadvertently speeding in a school zone is usually much heavier than the 
one imposed on people trafficking to students.

"It's not just a school issue. It's a community values issue too," he said.

RSS principal Mike Roberts said he called in the police because he felt the 
problem in and around his school was getting out of hand.

"I became very concerned about the youths and adults hanging around the 
school," he said. "This is a drug-free zone and we were all very supportive 
of the police taking this action. Many of the students are concerned about 
this too, so Student Crime Stoppers also played a part (in the arrests)."

He said the dealers are aged 15 to 20, some students and some not.

Several members of the Rutland volleyball team who were still at the school 
Wednesday evening said drugs are easily available even to those who don't 
want them.

"I've been approached three times to buy," said one of the students. "If 
you have the money, anybody can buy it. I even got asked in math class."

Said another student: "It's pretty much both in and outside of the school. 
Getting asked to buy happens to everybody."
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