Pubdate: Wed, 07 May 2003 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2003 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Katherine Boylen Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n662/a07.html THWART DRUG TRADE BEFORE IT HITS THE STREETS I think that putting more police patrols in the Downtown Eastside to prevent drug trafficking is akin to shutting the barn door after the horse is out (Police crackdown has cut drug use, expert doctor says, May 6). Such a police presence will likely just move the drug trade to another section of town. The only way to combat the drug trade is to stop the drugs at the source. The Canadian government needs to hire more police and customs inspectors and have more drug-sniffing dogs at the borders, airports and the ports of Vancouver. More police are also needed on the vice squad investigating suspected meth and other drug labs and monitoring organized crime activities. We need to stop the drugs from coming into Canada in the first place and we need to stop the production of drugs in Canada. Only by using these methods will the drug problems that face the Downtown Eastside actually improve. Katherine Boylen Delta - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake