Pubdate: Wed, 16 Jan 2008
Source: Williams Lake Tribune, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2008 Williams Lake Tribune
Contact:  http://www.wltribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1226
Author: Diana French, Williams Lake Tribune

PUBLIC HEALTH/SOCIAL APPROACH TO DRUG PROBLEM THE MOST EFFECTIVE

Lots of  ideas and hopes expressed at the  CBC's Beetle  Forum held here 
last week  but there was one interesting  gap.  Most of  the focus was  on 
the use  of trees,   dead or alive.  Less was said about the value of  the 
forests, the non-timber use,  the wildlife, the environmental importance. 
UNBC  Dean William McGill  did speak briefly about the culture of forests 
and the   First Nations  speakers certainly made the point. Tourism was 
mentioned,  and   MLA Bob Simpson spoke of the need to change our focus, 
but most of the speakers and panel  members were concerned with  the 
uses  of wood in its various forms.

Maybe we  can't see the forest for the pine trees.

Hopefully  the program  got some attention  from  folks living outside the 
MPB afflicted zones.

*

It won't surprise anyone who knows  us, but I rarely agree with opinions 
expressed by my good neighbour and  fellow columnist Walter Cobb, or he 
with mine.  We  come from different directions on most issues.

It would be a dull and unproductive world  indeed if everyone agreed on 
everything,  and besides, our democratic system calls for discussion and 
dissent.

Having said that, there are issues that call for a united front.

In his last column, Walt raised  questions about the  illicit drug trade in 
our community. I agree. It  truly is a worrisome issue.

With all due respect to city council's efforts  to curb crime,  many 
citizens see little improvement in spite of news releases telling us the 
numbers   have decreased.

Unless Williams Lake is totally different from other communities, and there 
is no reason to believe we are,  most of the B&Es,  home 
invasions,  thefts, assaults and vandalism have their roots in 
substance  abuse. Williams Lake has long standing problems with 
alcohol  abuse,  in spite of mighty efforts by community groups to resolve 
them.

It is legal and even  socially  acceptable  to  buy  and  misuse booze.

Supplies are readily available, and consumption is  desirable  from the 
economic viewpoint.  While the end result of   addictions  might be the 
same,  the  drug trade is illicit, and that makes it  a very different story.

There have been numerous articles and  columns in the  media recently 
suggesting it's  time  to  try a different approach to  crime reduction.

In spite of the hard-nosed law and order  approach taken by governments 
(usually at the urging of constituents) here and in the USA,  the  problems 
with  the illegal drug industry keeps getting worse.

According to a recent RCMP report, the involvement of organized crime 
(outlaw  gangs and groups) has significantly expanded the  marijuana 
industry which has branched  out to include other substances such as 
ecstasy. Canada is a net exporter of ecstasy  and of course B.C. bud is prime.

If cracking  down on criminals isn't working, what will? There is a growing 
call for the de-criminalization of some drugs like marijuana.

The reasoning  is that by making it legal, sales  can be controlled thus 
eliminating the  criminal element.  I  think that's worth a try for 
marijuana, I'm not sure about other drugs.  Controlling the sale of liquor 
may have eliminated the  criminal element  but it hasn't done much  to 
mitigate  the adverse social effects of overuse by consumers.

The problems with the "jail 'em and throw away the key"  approach is that 
no one seems to have found a way to catch the big guys, and we don't have 
enough jails to house the small fry who do manage to get themselves 
incarcerated.

Our jails are bursting at the seams  but whenever any government tries to 
build a new one somewhere,  people in the  chosen community scream their 
heads off in protest.

(Question. Would the good citizens  of  Williams Lake welcome a prison in 
our  vicinity? Like  on one  of our abandoned school sites? )

Overcrowding can and does generate  violence  in  jails. (One troubled 
facility meant for 300 inmates houses  650.)  When increased drug activity 
and young gang members  join  the mix   the results are poisonous. The 
young thugs add a new element because  they don't mix well 
amongst  themselves, let alone  with the older prison community.

Some  prisons are powder kegs.  How  safe  are the guards?

So what about treatment and prevention? I must sound like a broken record 
on this but there is plenty of evidence to show  that the public 
health/social approach   is effective. Well-cared for and well-educated 
children  are less likely to grow up to be criminals.

The catch is this  calls for a co-ordinated effort from all agencies, 
including  those in the   justice system, and  it can be a slow process in 
terms of seeing results. Our city council has taken a first step by adding 
a social development co-ordinator to its staff.

There is one other  alternative.

A Saskatchewan woman has successfully sued a street drug dealer after she 
nearly died from an overdose of crystal  meth.  The case was heard in civil 
court and  according to the CBC,  she won by default  when the dealer 
wouldn't say  where  he  got the drugs.  (That  shouldn't come as any 
surprise.)

Let's hope this  lawsuit won't be the last.

I honestly don't see how our city is going to grow and prosper as long as 
the criminal  element is running wild. And if, as our mayor has suggested, 
our  high crime rate is related to our prosperity, we'd better be prepared 
if  his predictions for even better times ahead come true.

Diana French was editor of the Williams Lake Tribune from 1979 to 1984, and 
has written her current events column since 1972. French Connection appears 
weekly in the Tuesday edition of the Tribune.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D