Our View: Ryan Thirlwall's story on Page A3 should inspire anyone who has ever travelled the dark and twisted road of drug addiction. Not only has the 19-year-old Langford man -- who in his teens was a chronic pot smoker and heavy user of the party drug ecstasy -- conquered his addiction; he's become, as he so eloquently put it, someone who "makes things happen," by talking to teens going through similar problems, and encouraging them to follow a better path in life. [continues 371 words]
And Other Tales From the Victoria Police Department's Exhibit Control and Supply Section This no ordinary warehouse. From outside the metal cage, this windowless, artificially lit room may resemble the back of an auto parts retailer with its myriad cardboard boxes lining metal shelves, labelled and stacked neatly for quick reference. A closer inspection reveals a rack filled with police uniforms, a collection of bongs, an assortment of thousands of new and used needles - many spattered with the blood of their users - and a stash of seized weapons, real and fake. [continues 902 words]
While we applaud the provincial government's efforts to fund groups like the Crystal Meth Victoria Society to educate students about the dangers of crystal methamphetamine, the bottom line is it amounts to far too little far too late. Almost two years after the B.C. Liberals promised to address the growing epidemic of meth use during the last provincial election campaign, there's still no plans to address the chronic need for more specialized treatment beds for young people swept away by this virulent plague. [continues 480 words]
Recovering Addicts Alert Middle School Students To Dangers Of Crystal Meth Students at Spencer middle school got a crystal-clear look at life on meth through the words of two peers currently in recovery. Brenna Barker and Morgana Glass spoke openly about their descent into the living hell of meth-amphetamine before fielding questions from the students who packed Isabelle Reader Theatre Tuesday for three presentations by the Crystal Meth Victoria Society. Barker, who started smoking meth when she was 11, said the biggest challenge for her has been to stay away from downtown and friends who still use meth. [continues 790 words]
If Keith Martin had his way, the Capital Region would become home to a safe-injection site for intravenous drug users. "I've been pushing for a safe-injection site like the one in Vancouver," the Liberal MP for Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca said in recent interview. Both new and earlier evidence has shown that safe-injection sites are beneficial, Martin said. The more recent evidence essentially corroborates earlier evidence showing that safe-injection sites reduce crime in areas such as break-and-enters and auto theft. [continues 245 words]
Recovered Meth Addict Tells of His Decent into Addiction and His Battle to Get Free "I've been clean now for just under two years," said the serious young man who asked to meet with this reporter in March of 2005. "I thought you might like to hear my story seeing as how you are running all these articles about meth in your paper." The young man, who will be known as Tim tells an all-too-common story. He tells of his experience with crystal meth in the hopes that it will strike a "common thread" with another youth, and perhaps that link will give them the determination and hope that is the first step to the rest of their lives. [continues 1164 words]
Education Minister Shirley Bond says more young people than ever are experimenting with crystal meth. "We know crystal meth use is a problem," Bond said. "Research shows that about five per cent of students in Grade 7-12 may have tried crystal meth. "Our government believes that one person using crystal meth is one person too many." She added that the province is working to give parents the information they need to talk to their kids about the drug. That's the reason the B.C. government has initiated a $3-million school-based program and public education campaign. [continues 104 words]
Tougher sentencing of crystal meth lab operators and more intrusive measures to catch them when they buy precursor chemicals are urgently needed, delegates to the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention heard Wednesday. Terrace Coun. Rich McDaniel said a meth lab was busted within 300 metres of both Terrace city hall and the RCMP detachment, but its operators were sentenced this month to probation only. "They didn't even get a damn fine," he told a crystal meth strategies forum. "There's no deterrent." [continues 395 words]
Despite several years of warning teens about the dangers of substance abuse, more drug-addicted youths are on the streets, says a local advocate. Chaplain Steve Bradley of the Connection to Freedom Jail & Street Outreach Society has been speaking to schools for 13 years. Just last week his organization talked to three classes at Claremont secondary school about drug and alcohol abuse. "The kids were talking about a former student who had just overdosed on cocaine and died of a heart attack," he said. "Drugs are just infested in the schools." [continues 252 words]
Colwood Council Expected To Vote On New Bylaw Within The Month A bylaw aiming to crack down on household drug labs will likely come before Colwood council next month, after finding support with the protective services committee. The Nuisance (Controlled Substances) bylaw would allow the municipality to charge property owners for all emergency service personnel and cleanup costs linked to marijuana grow-op or meth labs. It would also enable municipal fire and inspection officials to revoke occupancy permits and shut off power and water until the building is free of drug infrastructure. [continues 541 words]
There have been community conversations in the West Shore which have drawn the mistaken conclusion that a massive drug problem is fueling widespread crime. This is not the case and I would like to clarify. It is true that during the first half of 2006, the West Shore RCMP detachment has noted an increase in theft of vehicles and theft from vehicles. Residential break-ins are slightly up as well. To draw the conclusion that an uncontrolled drug culture is responsible, and that the trend will increase is not completely accurate. [continues 352 words]
Re: "Drugs Fuel Crime Spike", Sept. 20, 2006. The News Gazette doesn't get it. Crime isn't due to drugs, but rather drug prohibition. It is in the same way there was crime not due to alcohol and illegal distilleries, but rather alcohol prohibition, during the 1920s. As Al Capone's history in Chicago, Ill. exposes how the original prohibition was bad, the sequel is worse. The News Gazette can help lower crime rates by honestly asking questions, researching and reporting instead of parroting government and law enforcement's one side of the story. Stan White Dillon, CO [end]
Drug-fuelled street crime is a booming business in the West Shore, with break-ins and thefts already spiking past 2005 numbers -- and police say worse is yet to come. From January to August, West Shore RCMP recorded 338 break-and-enters, a 70 per cent jump compared to the same period in 2005. For all of last year, 314 cases were reported. Vehicle break-ins have doubled this year, with 785 reported incidents to the end of August. The first eight months of 2005 had 390 cases, and the entire year had 572. [continues 534 words]
Re: "Discerning indigents prefer ocean views" (B.C. Views, Sept. 7) I have just returned from a two-week holiday visiting my family, most of whom emigrated to B.C. around 50 years ago. I now have two aunts, three cousins and their extended families living in Maple Ridge and I always receive a warm welcome. I congratulate you on your article, which I read on the Internet. Here in Scotland we have the same problems with the so-called "homeless drug addicts" and we also have the same bleeding heart politicians and social workers with their schemes, projects and solutions to the problems of crime, illegal squatting on private property and vandalism caused by these people. [continues 151 words]
VICTORIA - Another summer winds down, as the weather begins to separate the really homeless from the fair-weather pretenders. But the issue is pressing hard on B.C. communities, not just Vancouver and Victoria, which get most of the attention. Here in the capital, which seems to have more than its share of hostels and street services already, the consensus is that they need more shelters. Over in Vancouver, B.C. Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair says the solution to poverty and homelessness is to raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour, and get rid of that evil $6 training wage. He doesn't mention that fewer and fewer employers are even trying to attract help at the $8 an hour minimum, let alone the training wage. [continues 800 words]
West Shore municipalities are joining forces to bring the hammer down on homeowners who allow marijuana grow-ops or drug labs on their property. Langford, Colwood and View Royal are drafting common bylaws that would hand all costs - including police, firefighters, building inspectors and cleanup crews - to the owner if drug operations cause building code violations. "When a grow-op is found, it's usually at the taxpayers expense. This is a tool for cost recovery," said Kevin Atkinson, Colwood's bylaw enforcement officer. [continues 640 words]
West Shore Workshops, Programs Given A Boost News about the hazards of the newest and most destructive demon drug is set to reach West Shore families in the upcoming school year. Educational programs and workshops are part of the West Shore Crystal Meth Society's plan to deliver its message before the drug becomes a full-blown problem. "We're putting the final touches on our plans," said task force member Dianna Seaton. "Our goal is to reach out to as many families as possible. We want to enable the parents to help their kids." [continues 492 words]
All the key players - substance users, researchers, policy makers, law enforcement and local business people - attended a recent substance-abuse forum - well, almost everyone. "The health authority," said Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe, when asked who should be sitting at the table next time, adding that the focus should be on drug addiction as a health issue, not an enforcement issue. "It's time to come to terms with the fact that we're a substance-using culture," said Connie Carter, a member of Voices of Substance, citing the prevalence and acceptability of alcohol, cigarettes and coffee in our society. "Unfortunately, the burden of marginalization falls on people using illicit substances." [continues 233 words]
Recent press has described a litany of crime and social deviance in Canada. Major drug seizures, with another under investigation; the shut-down of an alleged Vernon drug gang; illegal immigrants protesting deportation; terrorist scares in Toronto; B.C. Ferries employees advised by lawyers not to talk. Not being one of the gentle people, following a lifetime of practical experience, I am at the same time saddened, sickened, appalled, disgusted and frightened by the apparent powerlessness of Canada's "justice" system. [continues 220 words]
How should B.C. respond to the growing use of methamphetamine? Here in the United States, New York City chose the zero tolerance approach during the crack epidemic of the eighties. Meanwhile, Washington, DC Mayor Marion Barry was smoking crack and America's capital had the highest per capita murder rate in the country. Yet crack use declined in both cities simultaneously. The decline was not due to a slick anti-drug advertising campaign or the passage of mandatory minimum sentencing laws. [continues 172 words]
