Pubdate: Mon, 05 Nov 2012
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2012 The Ottawa Citizen
Contact: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: David Pugliese

DRUG USE AT BASE CONCERNS MILITARY

'Substantive' Instances at Ontario Training Facility

Officers at Canadian Forces Base Borden, a key training facility for 
the military, have sounded the alarm about increasing drug use at the 
southern Ontario location, according to newly released records.

"There has been a substantial spike in the increasing number of 
drug-related instances in the CFB Borden area," according to the 
March briefing note produced for the commander of the Canadian Forces 
National Investigation Service (CFNIS).

Between Jan. 1, 2011, and March 26, 2012, there were a minimum of 22 
"substantive drug-related occurrences," the document said.

It also noted that until the recent spate of activity, it had been 
almost seven years since there were any "key arrests ... from this 
particular geographical area."

"It appears the Base Commander of CFB Borden has become increasingly 
alarmed with the amount of drug related files on his base," added the 
briefing note obtained under the Access to Information law.

On average, CFB Borden, located about 100 kilometres north of 
Toronto, trains 15,000 military personnel annually.

The base employs about 3,250 military members and 1,500 civilians. 
Maj. Kevin Cadman, deputy commanding officer of CFNIS, said the 
service takes into account concerns raised by base commanders when it 
determines where to put its investigative resources.

"In this particular one, when Borden brings up some issues we'll 
surely pull some resources together to have a look at that," he said.

Cadman said he didn't want to get into particular details about 
various CFNIS activities for security reasons.

But he said CFB Borden should not be viewed as a hot spot for drug 
use in the military.

"There has been no development in the Borden area that is any 
different than across the country," Cadman added, noting that the 
Canadian Forces is in many ways a reflection of society.

"We are going to get those members that have a usage problem and some 
of them who were trafficking in their civilian lives will bring that 
to the CF," Cadman said.

The documents also note what the CFNIS calls "a substantial spike in 
the increasing number of drug related instances in the CFB Gagetown 
area" in New Brunswick. In a one-year period covering 2009, the 
military reported 42 personnel involved in incidents ranging from 
usage to trafficking.

In April 2010, the military had a plan to target drug traffickers and 
users at the base but it did not proceed because units had already 
disciplined some of the individuals while others had left the Canadian Forces.

Cadman said he hasn't seen any particular increase in general drug 
use in the Canadian Forces.

The military conducts mandatory drug tests for what it calls "safety 
sensitive" occupations. Those include soldiers being sent to 
Afghanistan, as well as submariners, divers and other specialized personnel.

The 2008 statistics from that program showed 170 members tested 
positive for illegal drugs between January and July of that year. 
Nearly 6,000 people were tested.

The statistics indicated that about half of those who tested positive 
had marijuana in their systems, and one-third had cocaine. 
Amphetamines, opiates and PCP accounted for the rest.

The military has pointed out that such levels are far below abuse 
rates in the Canadian population and over the years the levels have 
dropped because soldiers heading to Afghanistan were required to pass 
drug tests before being sent on the mission.

But the documents also reveal that some in the CFNIS were worried 
that soldiers heading to Afghanistan were able to mask their drug use 
through over-the-counter health products. One of the documents cited 
the example of urine testing of soldiers heading to Afghanistan in 2006-2007.

"The testing resulted in 38 diluted results which is a strong 
indication that soldier either attempted to detoxify their system 
through the consumption of large quantities of fluids or by ingesting 
an over the counter product that is readily available on the Internet 
or at local specialty stores (Hemp and Health Stores) situated within 
the vicinity of CF establishments," the briefing note pointed out.

The number of drug masking products had grown because there were no 
regulations to prohibit the distribution of those products, it added.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom