Pubdate: Sat, 05 Dec 2009 Source: Nanaimo News Bulletin (CN BC) Copyright: 2009, BC Newspaper Group Contact: http://www.nanaimobulletin.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/948 Author: Jenn Marshall, Nanaimo News Bulletin MOST CRIMINAL ACTIVITY STARTS WITH DRUG ISSUES Drugs are the root cause of the majority of criminal activity police deal with. "If you take away drugs, you'd eliminate 85 per cent of crime in our society," said Const. Gary O'Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman. Once a person becomes hooked on drugs, they often enter into a life of crime to feed their habit, a criminal lifestyle that can take years to reverse. One of the biggest changes over the past 30 years has been the increased potency of the drugs. The Tetrahydro-cannabinol (THC) content, which is the main psychoactive substance found in marijuana, has gone from around two or three per cent in the 1970s to 16-20 per cent now. "It's highly potent now," said O'Brien. "People have perfected the harvest and cultivation of this product." Synthetic "designer" drugs, such as ecstasy and crystal methamphetamine, have had the most impact on society in recent years, he added, because it takes less than 30 days to become fully addicted and crystal meth is one of the hardest addictions to kick. O'Brien said the most common drugs on Nanaimo streets are crystal meth, marijuana, cocaine and heroin. Nanaimo RCMP detachment has a full-time municipal drug squad of about six members dedicated to street-level drugs. A six-member green team spends its time discovering marijuana grow operations . Nanaimo also has a criminal intelligence probe team, which tracks and monitors organized crime and the importation and exportation of drugs. O'Brien said as a hub city, Nanaimo is accessed by plane, ferry or road, making it an ideal base for drug trade businesses. "B.C. bud fetches a considerable dollar south of the border and they're getting cocaine in return," he said, adding that often marijuana is traded dollar for dollar for cocaine. While considerable police resources are spent on enforcement, Nanaimo RCMP also has a community education component. Police officers begin educating students about the effects of drugs in Grade 5 through the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program. In secondary school, officers reinforce their earlier teachings with more detailed information about the effects of certain drugs or related health problems that addiction causes. In Grade 10, students are taken to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital for the PARTY program, where they are taught about the consequences of risky behaviour by nurses, paramedics, physicians, rehabilitation specialists, police officers and injury survivors. Graphic details are not spared. The lesson is finished with Grade 12 students just before their high school graduation and prom ceremonies with DRIVE (Demonstrating Responsibility in Vehicle Education), which starts off with the re-enactment of a crash scene, including actors in makeup and real emergency personnel and vehicles. O'Brien said with the Assertive Community Treatment team, a group of about a dozen people with experience in the mental health and addictions field, coming online in January, as well as the new supportive housing projects that will be built over the next few years, police will have access to a much wider support network. "Often we get involved in a crisis situation," he said. With the help of this team of professionals, O'Brien said officers will have the information they need to better serve these individuals in crisis. Ultimately, he added, there may be less people in this crisis stage where police must intervene because they are already being targeted by the ACT team. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D