Now Students Who Are Suspended From School For Drug Use Have Somewhere To Go. Alouette Addictions has partnered with School District 42 to provide day treatment to those youths. Counsellors have been working to develop the program all summer long, said executive director Ron Lawrance. Students will participate in the day treatment program for the entire three days of their suspension and from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. "There will be a self-assessment component to the program, a wellness component and some educational components as well as a therapeutic component," he said. [continues 324 words]
Hundreds of Maple Ridge students are not being suspended because of crystal meth use, School District 42 trustees vehemently said Wednesday. Maple Ridge Mayor Gord Robson suggested a couple of hundred students in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows schools have been suspended because of crystal meth use. That's not even close to the truth, trustees said at Wednesday's school board meeting. Of 507 total suspensions for secondary students during the last school year, 116 were drug-related. Of those, 93 had to do with marijuana use. The other 23 were not identified, but none of them were earmarked as dealing with crystal meth use. [continues 304 words]
Ed Andal found a way out of the cycle of drug and alcohol abuse in Maple Ridge. Thanks to the One Way Club Society, a non-profit organization that acts as a resource for people looking to overcome drug and alcohol dependencies, he was able to get his life on track. "What I am today is direct result of the One Way Club," said Andal, the club's president. The One Way Club, 22270 North Avenue in Maple Ridge, is a safe place, a place to meet people and a place to eat (the club offers meals at reasonable prices), said Andal. The membership helped him get through some tough times, he said. [continues 257 words]
When the Vancouver Sun wanted to talk about unlicenced addiction facilities, they talked to Sherry Mumford. Why not? After all, she is the Fraser Health addictions program manager. But when we called to speak with her on the exact same topic, suddenly the PR flaks at FH said we couldn't speak with her. She would no longer be commenting on the issue with the media. Could it be because she was honest with her comments? That she told the truth about violence and intimidation in the facilities? Now it appears Mumford is being muzzled. Instead, the media are forced to talk to a person who is not trained in addictions programs, but rather the art of avoidance. [end]
Gord Robson Vows To Resurrect Plan For Unlicenced Drug Recover House Unlicenced drug and alcohol treatment programs exist in Maple Ridge because the Fraser Health Authority has failed, charges Mayor Gord Robson. His comments come in response to those made in the Vancouver Sun by Fraser Health addictions program manager Sherry Mumford. In an article that appeared on the newspaper's front page Thursday, Mumford suggested that at some unlicenced facilities, drug dealing is rampant, there is overcrowding and often times no food. [continues 576 words]
Editor: Just when it seems like no one really cares about the destructive effects of substances on a community, family or individual, some very special individuals step up to the plate and knock one right out of the park. It is time to take a moment to acknowledge the home-run hitters who are continually working behind the scenes to make this the best place to live in the country. Randy Miller, Inspector James Wakley, Mayor Gord Robson, Councillors Judy Dueck and Ernie Daykin, Fire Chief Dane Spence and Constable Alice Fox all gave their personal time to make the Fun Day in the Park a huge success. Lordco Enterprises, M&M Meats, Party Perfect, Sterling Sales & Promotion and Garage Front Band also gave their time, talent, and financial commitment, to see our community come together and have some fun. [continues 65 words]
Heather Steele spent more than five years as a health care worker in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. These days, she's Maple Ridge's newest outreach worker trying to combat homelessness on a contract with the Simon Fraser Branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association. While only in the community twice each week, and having only been here a couple of weeks, Steele said a few things have already become apparent. For one, she said, crystal meth use hasn't been exaggerated. [continues 251 words]
A meth lab inside a Lougheed Highway home end up costing the property owner thousands. Head of the Ridge Meadows RCMP drug section Cpl. John MacDougall said cost of the HAZMAT crew alone could cost the property owner upwards of $20,000. Because of the home's proximity to the highway, three chemists were brought in. MacDougall said one chemist would have been sufficient if the property were secluded and traffic wouldn't be impeded by a lengthy search. But these costs don't include the potential cost of the environmental impacts on the property, which sits dangerously close to Kanaka Creek. [continues 328 words]
Ridge Meadows RCMP hauled pounds of pot out of a storage complex in the 20100 block of Stewart Crescent on Thursday. All that bud had a street value of nearly $1 million, said RCMP spokesman Const. Dan Herbranson. "It's not that often that something around this type, this scale, comes around," he said. "It is a substantial seizure." RCMP were tipped off when water was reportedly leaking from one of the units into another. When they arrived on the scene, police executed warrants on five different units in the complex, finding pot in all. [continues 308 words]
Maple Ridge is ahead of the game when it comes to addiction services, but according to Mayor Gord Robson, it's still not enough. Andy Libbiter, Director of Mental Health and Addiction Services for Maple Ridge and Langley, informed council on Monday morning that "other communities are already looking here with some envy" when it comes to addictions treatment. "Compared to other communities, a lot of money is coming into this community," Libbiter said. "Many communities would kill to have the Matrix Program." [continues 522 words]
Pitt Meadows could soon begin an alternative approach to deter residential marijuana grow-ops. Council in committee will discuss today an alternative that would put public safety above criminal prosecution. Under a proposal, district staff would begin a three-month pilot public safety inspection program. Under the program, RCMP would forward suspected grow-ops to a team comprised of a bylaw officer, fire inspector, building official and electrical inspector. RCMP would also be on hand during inspections to keep the peace. [continues 618 words]
Imagine, you're a teenager, you have problems with drugs or alcohol, or both. But in order to get the help you need, you must first walk through the very visible doors of a very visible treatment or counselling centre. This embarrassment, said Marika Sandrelli, is what keeps people from seeking help. And this is just one way the Matrix program is set to redefine the way youth are treated for drug and alcohol addiction in this area, she said. The Matrix Drug And Alcohol Treatment Centre officially opens its doors on June 26. It will be housed in an office in the Greg Moore Youth Centre, but youth will not be forced to walk through those doors to ask for help. [continues 468 words]
Neighbours cheered as police officers busted into a tiny home on 123 Avenue, and they continued cheering every time a marked car would drive by, carting off more and more suspects to the local jail. But none of the residents expect the drug house they've been living beside for the last decade will be demolished. Most anticipate that later this week they'll be back to watching out their front windows, jotting down licence plate numbers and keeping a close eye on all their possessions. [continues 463 words]
Nurses are scared. The number of people presenting in hospital emergency rooms with violent drug-induced psychosis is on the upswing says Linda Pipe. And it's only a matter of time before tragedy results. Crystal meth, said the Fraser Valley representative of the B.C. Nurses Union, is unlike any drug emergency room nurses have had to cope with. And emergency rooms, she said, aren't equipped to deal with these violent addicts. "Nurses are very frustrated, and it's very concerning to them because of the violence associated with these types of patients," she said on Thursday. [continues 485 words]
ridge meadows hospital can't contain its meth addicts Maple Ridge-Mission MLA Randy Hawes said he's been in touch with Solicitor General John Les about it, and is hoping a solution can be found ASAP. Hawes said he has spoken to Les regarding the need for a "holding place for people that are in drug psychosis and considered dangerous." Crystal methamphetamine users in the area, he said, are presenting at the local emergency department and putting staff at risk. [continues 163 words]
Without neighbours keeping tabs on one another Ridge Meadows RCMP would have a tough time getting started on marijuana grow op investigations. "It's very rare that we actually find one of these grow ops on our own because we're so busy," said Const. Yannick Lesarbeau of the Ridge Meadows drug section. "It does happen once in awhile that a police officer comes upon it," he said, but neighbour tips, he said, "are very, very useful." These comments were made after the local detachment busted five grow ops and seized approximately 4,300 plans in a single day last week. The first home was in the 12400 block of 227 Street and the second was in the 13200 block of 237A Street. More than 1,600 plants were found at these homes, and three people were taken into custody. [continues 268 words]
Dentist Offers Special Perspective On Damage Done By Crystal Meth. Dr. Doug Bing is seeing a disturbing change in his practice. Teeth are falling apart, but the trend has nothing to do with sugary snacks or a failure to floss. It's crystal meth. The long-time Pitt Meadows dentist felt compelled to share a set of X-rays with the TIMES to show the kind of destruction the drug is doing to the bodies of users. If this is what the drug is doing to people's teeth, he says, imagine what it is doing to the rest of the body. [continues 484 words]
Concerns about drugs were at the top of the agenda when people had the chance to ask questions of three of Maple Ridge's politicians on Thursday. Mayor Gord Robson, MLA Randy Hawes and MP Randy Kamp took questions on a range of topics including homelessness, garbage, gravel, apprenticeship programs and finances. About 60 people attended the meeting, which was held at Planet Ice. But during the two-hour meeting, drugs and drug houses generated the most discussion. Mayor Robson was asked what could be done about marijuana grow operations in a resident's neighbourhood. [continues 253 words]
The chairwoman of the Maple Ridge Crystal Meth Task Force says the decision to remove many cold remedies from corner store and gas station shelves may make a small but important dent in the production of methamphetamine. "This won't have a big effect," Mary Robson explained. "But it is a step in the right direction." Because many meth manufacturers buy the products needed to manufacture the drug in bulk from on-line retailers, many critics believe pulling the medicines from non- pharmacy stores won't make that much of a difference. [continues 421 words]
Film crews are a common sight in Maple Ridge, but it's not often those film crews are documenting local issues. Until now. Alouette Addictions executive director Ron Lawrance has announced that Maple Ridge will provide the backdrop for a new documentary to focus on the problems youth face when it comes to drug addiction. Vancouver-based film maker Mike Neitzel, known for documentaries including Wrath of the Dragon and Death By Jib, will be behind the lens. "The focus will be a realistic look at what our youth are up against on a daily basis in relation to substance abuse," Lawrance said. [continues 174 words]
