Pubdate: Fri, 16 Nov 2001
Source: Abbotsford Times (CN BC)
Copyright: 2001 The Abbotsford Times
Contact:  http://www.abbotsfordtimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1009
Author: Christina Toth

ABBOTSFORD AWAKENED TO DRUG PROBLEM

"When I came to Abbotsford I wanted to know why so many people here buried 
their heads in the sand about drugs and prostitution," said Bill Wolfe, one 
of the sponsors of the Drugs and Reality forum held Tuesday night at 
Abbotsford City Hall.

The three dozen or so hookers in the old downtown area of Abbotsford - 
where he has his self-defence school - are all there because they are 
slaves to their addictions, Wolfe said.

Abbotsford needs to wake up to the reality it has a severe drug problem, 
said Wolfe and other presenters, who warned that safe injection sites or 
decriminalizing drugs will only exacerbate the problem.

The only measures that will help are more treatment centres and broader 
public understanding of this pervasive social problem.

The forum, which drew a packed house - including parents, teens, addicts 
and dealers - featured two Vancouver police officers who created two 
documentary films, Through the Blue Lens and Flipping the World, and two 
officers from the Abbotsford police department who shot their own video of 
local addicts.

The film, shot by Abbotsford police constables Wanda Lane and Kevin Murphy, 
takes a voyeuristic look into a day in the life of an addicted family - 
mom, dad and teenage son - all of whom were squatting in a derelict house 
in Abbotsford last winter.

They had no heat, lights or running water and lived off the money the 
mother made through prostitution. After a leg injury in Alberta years ago, 
Penny became addicted to prescribed morphine. When she couldn't get 
morphine in B.C., she switched to cheaper heroin. Now she hooks every day 
to support her habit and her family, "even Christmas Eve. It's not 
glamorous. I live in hell," she said. Father Rick shrugs his shoulders and 
says he's been on and off heroin all his life.

Sixteen-year-old blond Matthew pours out a hyper confession of the 
smorgasbord of drugs he's ingested since he was nine; a litany which was as 
much bragging as it was lamenting. Shoplifting and petty crimes sustain 
this family. Lane said while Penny and Rick carry on much as before, 
Matthew has deteriorated physically as his drug intake has increased.

"Underneath the Rockwellian surface of any community lay these issues," 
said Vancouver police Const. Toby Hinton, a veteran of the downtown 
Vancouver drug scene.

Since prevention is a lot easier than treatment, the officers are focusing 
their energies on educating communities like Abbotsford. They are all 
adamantly against harm reduction - drug injection sites and needle 
exchanges - which are seen as ways to reduce the spread of HIV and 
hepatitis C among drug users.

"Safe fixing sites are an oxymoron. there is no such thing as safe heroin 
or cocaine. We need to be proactive about asking governments for more money 
for more treatment centres. Addicts need the cure, not the poison," said 
Vancouver Const. Al Arsenault, who admitted he was taking a political position.

Randy Miller was one of the addicts featured in the Vancouver police film 
Flipping the World. On film, the audience saw him wild-haired, toothless 
and ranting as he writhed grotesquely on a dirty skid row street. He then 
stepped up to the mike, looking strong and healthy, and candidly shared 
details of his life as an addict for 13 years.

"We used to pull used needles out of the wall and shoot up with them. I had 
sores from picking at my skin. One was so bad I picked at the ligaments in 
my leg," he told the audience.

Langley-Abbotsford MP Randy White said more money is needed for long-term 
treatment centres. He said Canadians can help by participating in a drug 
committee which will be travelling the country, starting in the spring.
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MAP posted-by: Beth