Pubdate: Wed, 16 Apr 2003
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2003 The Province
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Susan Martinuk

BETTER TO PROVIDE EASY ACCESS TO TREATMENT THAN TO DRUGS

Drug addicts and dealers have had free reign in Vancouver's Downtown 
Eastside for too long. Drug deals occur near the police department's 
headquarters and in open view of the public. The area is the epitome of 
Skid Road; a criminal, medical, social mess.

So city police took steps to reclaim the area by launching a three-month 
trial of "enhanced enforcement" that triples the number of officers in the 
area. Police say they took steps because there has been much talk, but 
little done to install the four-pillar plan (enforcement, treatment, harm 
reduction and prevention). In the midst of inaction, the drug market was 
growing, as was embarrassment over the city's reputation.

Believe it or not, this 'crackdown' on crime (enforcing the law) is 
considered controversial by some. City council unanimously refused to 
provide the VPD $2.3 million to extend the program. One advocate claimed 
the added police presence was "killing"people (rather than the drugs); 
others said it will force users into 'unsafe' injection practices, hiding 
and crime.

The non-users seem to welcome the added police presence. It's only 
drug-users and their radical advocates who think law enforcement, not 
drugs, are at the root of the problem. They say officers are throwing 
'sick' users in jail and using legal tools to deal with a medical problem. 
In truth, the legal battle against drugs hasn't even begun.

Const. Gerry Wickstead compiled statistics that show only four per cent of 
drug possession charges in B.C. in 2000 resulted in a jail term. A mere one 
per cent of trafficking charges resulted in a prison sentence. Of roughly 
15,000 injection users in B.C., only 5.5 per cent have been charged with 
possession. The average sentence for possession in Canada is 15 days; 
trafficking, 90 days.

Contrast that to Washington state, where a first time trafficker faces 21 
to 27 months in jail. That's enforcement. Little wonder that a drug dealer 
testifying at a recent trial said B.C.'s drug laws only encouraged trafficking.

It's clear the VPD sees the drug problem as a major crime issue and is 
committed to increased enforcement. That much is positive. But it won't 
make any difference if the judicial system refuses to penalize drug-related 
offences. Lenience not only creates the perception that enforcement is a 
"joke," it keeps the drug user in squalor and despair.

Not only must sentencing be tougher -- it must also be smarter, more 
meaningful. Users and dealers should be given a choice between jail or 
treatment; that means money for detox and treatment centres, counselling, 
and follow-up programs.

Al Arsenault of The Odd Squad, Vancouver officers dedicated to drug 
prevention, says, "We have to stop making addicts lives so comfortable as 
to take away any impetus for them to change, but we also have to give them 
somewhere positive to go."

We give away millions of needles yearly, are planning injection sites, the 
decriminalization of marijuana and perhaps even prescribing heroin and 
cocaine to addicts. Instead of providing easy access to drugs, why not try 
enforcement, meaningful sentencing that provides incentives to seek 
treatment, and access to treatment programs?

Enhanced enforcement isn't a fix. It's a start towards controlling drugs 
and reclaiming the eastside. Hopefully, it will hasten the provision of 
effective treatment and prevention programs.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens