A B.C. Supreme Court case may challenge one of the main underpinnings of Surrey's new grow-op program. Last week, a BCSC judge ruled B.C. Hydro had to return power to a South Surrey home after shutting it off because police escorted municipal inspectors onto the property. This was deemed equivalent to a warrantless search by police. Under Surrey's program, high consumers of power are served warning of a pending municipal inspection. High power consumption is a sign of a potential marijuana grow operation. [continues 64 words]
And Frankly... A plan to choke off the supply of crystal methamphetamine in Surrey is welcome. Unfortunately, any such plan is hampered by restrictions on landlords, law enforcement personnel and city staff. Fire chief Len Garis outlined plans to boost the city's Meth Watch program further on Monday. He wants to work with retailers so they will refuse to sell the ingredients that are used to make crystal meth in labs, which are usually set up in rental homes but sometimes located in warehouses. These ingredients include cold and allergy remedies, drain cleaner and camp stove fuel. [continues 591 words]
High School Confidential Offers Reality Check Briana holds nothing back as she speaks out against drug and alcohol use in a video making its way across Fraser Health Authority. Anger simmering under the surface escapes in a stream of tears down her cheeks. Her voice is raw with emotion as she shares some of the horrors she's seen -- girls raped, family and friends drop dead, babies born addicted to heroin. "You can't imagine how those kids, they just have no chance in life," she says, her voice breaking. [continues 485 words]
New Facility Will Provide 30 Beds Help for this city's most drug addicted has arrived. Creekside Withdrawal Management Centre, funded by the province through the Fraser Health Authority, was officially opened Thursday afternoon at 13740 94 A Avenue, across from Surrey Memorial Hospital. It includes 30 beds for drug and alcohol detoxification -- 24 for adults and six dedicated for youth. Creekside replaces Burnaby's Maple Cottage, which supported 1,200 people annually. Service providers have long said this city is in desperate need of drug detox beds. [continues 229 words]
Editor: Frank Bucholtz makes the common mistake of confusing drug-related crime with prohibition-related crime in his Mar. 3 column ("Council Deserves Credit For Crime-Fighting Tactics"). Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime. The good news is that Canada has already adopted many of the common-sense harm-reduction interventions first pioneered in Europe. [continues 134 words]
It's 2002, and Dianne Watts flips open a large black binder where she keeps her plan for crime reduction in Surrey. Approaches include enforcement, education, prevention and treatment -- a quantum shift from a city that leaned hard on enforcement, with little provision for root causes of crime. Five years later, Watts is mayor, with a finely tuned version of her rough document started six years ago. More than 100 people from government, justice, social services and health care contributed to the creation of the Crime Reduction Strategy made public Monday. [continues 290 words]
Student Safety 'Priority' After Meth Dump Found A recent meth dump across the street from a South Surrey elementary school has boosted efforts to educate students on the reality of such dangers. East Kensington elementary principal Ruth Mrak said following the Feb. 16 incident that she had briefed students that they were not evacuated because the containers were sealed. She said she assured students their safety is the school's top priority. "Should we arrive and find anything like that (unsealed containers), we're evacuating the kids," Mrak said. [continues 323 words]
Four strands sounds a lot better than four pillars. Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts unveiled an ambitious crime fighting plan on Monday, along with Attorney General Wally Oppal. The plan has four "strands," which makes a comparison with Vancouver's four pillars plan to reduce drug problems inevitable. Surrey's plan seems to have a better chance of actually working. The mayor has been working towards this plan for years, beginning when she chaired the police committee as a councillor. The four strands are: prevent and deter crime; apprehend and prosecute offenders; rehabilitate and reintegrate; and reality and perception of crime. [continues 639 words]
Toxic chemicals jettisoned from clandestine drug labs are costing Surrey a bundle, and expenses are climbing as a three dumps were found this month. A third meth dump was found in South Surrey Friday morning, at 28 Avenue and 184 Street, bringing to three the number of dumps found in Surrey in the past month. Costs are significant. Surrey paid private firms more than $85,000 last year to clean up wastes from methamphetamine labs and marijuana grow operations. Some of those costs are recovered from homeowners when labs are seized by police, but taxpayers are on the hook for chemicals dumped in public areas. [continues 340 words]
When it comes to drug-proofing children, parents hold the most influence. Research shows nearly half of teens who haven't tried marijuana credit their parents with the decision. "Parents are the most influential people in kids' lives," said Kristen Prediger, manager of Focus on the Family's How to Drug Proof Your Kids program. With that in mind, six Semiahmoo Rotary Club members have signed on to learn how to teach parents to help their children make smart decisions about drugs, alcohol and smoking. [continues 262 words]
A new Surrey campaign that uses power consumption rates to uncover grow ops has located 30 so far. Fire chief Len Garis said all of the suspected residences visited by a team of Surrey fire and municipal inspectors (with Surrey RCMP support) during the first weeks of the new campaign turned out to have evidence of grow op activity and often unsafe wiring. "We found two outside electrical meters that were absolutely fried," Garis said. The first team started work in mid-January. [continues 250 words]
Transit Police Mark First Full Year In Service TransLink's Transit Police will soon be armed with Tasers as well as handguns. A big budget surplus last fall allowed the service to step up its plans to buy the electrical-charge weapons, considered a less lethal alternative to firearms. "We have purchased 20 Tasers and we will be deploying them on the line when our people are trained," Insp. Daniel Dureau said. He estimated it could be a couple of months before the devices are in use. [continues 528 words]
About 1,300 marijuana grow operations in Surrey likely include 300 homes with children living in dangerous conditions, the city's fire chief estimates. The B.C. Association of Social Workers, Child Welfare and Family Committee Chair says it's a "crisis situation" in need of fast action by government. The children are living "with the possibility of being electrocuted, burned to death, smoke inhalation, poisoning, respiratory illness or someone coming in and beating the crap out of their parents," said the association's Paul Jenkinson. [continues 339 words]
I'm writing about: "Breaking the law to bust grow-ops" (12-26-06). If neighbors want to eliminate illegal grow-ops, it seems to me that they should support the only measure that would accomplish this: full legalization of marijuana use, sales and production. Neither Canada nor the United States has any illegal tobacco-grow operations. That's because tobacco products are legally available in licensed business establishments at affordable prices. If tobacco were to be criminalized, the situation would soon change and tobacco would be grown in clandestine locations by criminals. Just like marijuana is today. Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz [end]
Surrey Residents Making False Break-in Calls Surrey residents are calling in bogus break-in complaints to get Mounties to raid suspected marijuana growing operations. The tactic was disclosed by a senior drug investigator during a B.C. Supreme Court sentencing hearing for a husband-and-wife team busted during a 2003 crackdown by Surrey RCMP. "There are an increasing number of incidents where frustrated citizens living near a grow operation report false break-and-enter offences (at) that residence in order to get police to act," Surrey RCMP Cpl. John Karlovcec said, testifying as an expert witness before Justice Bruce Josephson in New Westminster. [continues 330 words]
Editor; Regarding Tom Fletcher's column (Peace Arch News, Nov. 22), there is a middle ground between drug prohibition and blanket legalization. Switzerland's heroin maintenance program has been shown to reduce disease, death and crime among chronic users. Providing addicts with standardized doses in a clinical setting eliminates many problems associated with heroin use. Heroin maintenance pilot projects are underway in Canada, England, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. If expanded, prescription heroin maintenance would deprive organized crime of a core client base. [continues 73 words]
Teen Drug and Alcohol Use Is a Fact of Life in Every Community. Most of It Is Experimental; Rarely Does It Lead to Addiction. It's Not a Crisis, but It Shouldn't Be Ignored Either, Judging by the Latest Mccreary Teen Health Survey. In 2003, youth aged 13 to 18 filled out a survey and one in five said they had tried marijuana. More than half said they had used alcohol. These are not surprising statistics, but they should make parents take notice. [continues 242 words]
VICTORIA -- Last week's column touched on crime rates around the province, which the B.C. government tracks by health region. If you look at violent crime, serious property crime and non-cannabis drug crime, the safest place to live in B.C. is Vancouver Island. Next best is the Interior region, which encompasses the Kootenays, Okanagan and Cariboo. In the middle of the pack is the Fraser region, the largest in the province by population, extending from Burnaby through the Fraser Valley to Hope. [continues 519 words]
Survey Showing Wide Use Alarms Doc A new poll showing 53 per cent of B.C. residents have used marijuana at least once is disturbing, says a South Surrey psychiatrist. "People should be aware this isn't a benign substance," said Dr. Bill MacEwan, who addressed a Fraser Health Authority board meeting Wednesday. He said clinical evidence from here and around the world increasingly links pot smoking - especially heavy use at an early age - with psychosis. "It's a real concern to us that we're seeing these rates of substance abuse," he said, responding to the poll released last month by B.C.'s Centre for Addictions Research. [continues 395 words]
VICTORIA -- 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 Hll 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. [continues 384 words]
The Peninsula's largest social services agency has received $25,000 from Fraser Health Authority to finance another drug awareness video for teens. Peace Arch Community Services will tap into an Addictions Prevention Grant to bankroll High School Confidential, a drug awareness and education video aimed at curbing substance abuse among young people, aged 13 to 24. "It's going to look at all kinds of different drugs, not just one drug," explained Peace Arch Community Services' Kevin Letourneau. The film will also look at ways people can manage stress and find excitement without using drugs. [continues 353 words]
Chilliwack is getting ready to tackle crystal meth with a little hard science. The city is teaming up with University College of the Fraser Valley researchers to determine what tools in the fight against meth have been most successful. "The extent of the (meth lab) problem in B.C. is probably much more significant than it has ever been," UCFV RCMP research chair Darryl Plecas said. "There's even some concern about the likelihood that we'll see more of them." [continues 288 words]
The fate of 150 Surrey children found in "hazardous conditions" in the last year is being questioned by MLAs this week. The city's new grow-op inspection team found 155 children in dangerous homes in the last year. Each case was reported to the provincial agency responsible. An official with the Ministry of Children and Family Development could not say what happened, except that each was investigated. NDP MLAs are fuming about the lack of information. "It's unconscionable, we should be able to know as a community what is happening to the kids," said Sue Hammell, MLA for Surrey-Green Timbers. [continues 385 words]
Firefighters Find Surrey Children Living In Dangerous Homes In the last year, 155 children have been found living in "hazardous conditions" and were reported to the province by Surrey firefighters. The revelation comes as Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis looks to expand the city's Electrical and Fire Safety Inspection (ESFI) program. The program is designed to shut down marijuana grow operations, and other homes deemed electrically hazardous. Of the 353 homes inspected in just over a year, 264 had the power cut by B.C. Hydro because ESFI team found the buildings were unsafe. Another 39 homeowners were given a week to correct electrical problems. [continues 180 words]
Editor; Re: Bums Prefer Ocean Views (B.C. Views, Sept. 7) I just returned from a two-week holiday visiting family, most of whom emigrated to B.C. 50 years ago. I 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 the same bleeding heart politicians and social workers with schemes, projects and solutions to the problems of crime, squatting on private property and vandalism caused by these people. [continues 137 words]
B.C. Views VICTORIA -- Another summer winds down, as the weather begins to separate the true homeless from the fair-weather pretenders. But the issue is pressing hard on B.C. communities, and 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 they need more shelters. 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. [continues 822 words]
Police Say More Research Must Be Done Before Facility Approved The RCMP is distancing itself from supervised drug injection sites and the academics it commissioned to review their value. The force said it opposes expanding the existing Insite injection site in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside until more research is done. The statement came in response to media reports on reviews by two researchers the RCMP hired to study the local site and the international experience with similar sites. "The reviews reflect the opinions of the authors and not of the RCMP," the statement said. [continues 200 words]
Editor; It started as the Four Pillar Approach to solve the drug problem on Vancouver's Downtown East Side. It is a fraud perpetrated by some well-meaning politicians and people in the industry. There are no four pillars and there will never be four pillars. If these politicians don't know this, then they are looking through rose-coloured glasses. There is no money to put in for the four pillar (treatment), and for the few who may turn their lives around and become productive citizens, it is just not cost effective. [continues 87 words]
Drug And Alcohol Abuse At Heart Of Public Safety Crime reduction through drug treatment is a key piece of the mayor's public safety goal. Lawlessness and drug abuse are inextricably linked, Mayor Dianne Watts said Monday. It's why she'll be focusing on the relationship as part of the city's crime reduction strategy - a plan expected to unfold sometime this fall. Statistics Canada estimates from five years ago indicate 70 to 90 per cent of all crimes in this country are related to drug and alcohol abuse. [continues 295 words]
Editor; I agree with the chair of the B.C. Association of Drug and Alcohol Recovery Houses, the city is opening a huge can of worms. I had chance to visit several recovery homes at Cornerstone Manor because my son has had an off-and-on drug problem. There were some pretty tough people running the program, people who had personal experience, and therefore zero tolerance for drug use. As for nutrition, there was an abundance of food. The clients pitched in and handled chores of the house, were made to attend meetings and thereby given responsibilities and not allowed to idle. [continues 171 words]
Surrey-Whalley A Logical Start: Study Co-Author Vancouver's supervised drug injection site should continue, and more should be set up in the downtown area and in the Fraser Health region. That's the recommendation of a University College of the Fraser Valley criminologist who was one of two researchers hired by the RCMP to study the issue. "If we have one site in one location that doesn't allow for a majority of people to access it, then we're missing a huge population who might benefit," said Dr. Irwin Cohen. [continues 516 words]
Latest Surrey Crime Stats Show Trend Continues Second-quarter Surrey crime statistics show another drop in the number of thefts from homes, cars and businesses in the city, down seven per cent compared to the same April-to-July period the previous year. Overall, business break-and-enters were down 31 per cent, residential break-ins were down six per cent, car thefts were down 27 per cent and theft over $5,000 was down 33 per cent. However, drug offences were up by 13 per cent, while violent crime was up by three per cent. [continues 253 words]
The region's new Transit Police arrested nearly 350 wanted suspects on outstanding warrants - some for murder - in the first six months of the year. Mid-year statistics were released last week by the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Police Service. Warrant arrests are one of the officers' new roles since the service was revamped last December and issued guns and expanded arrest powers. The majority of the 25,100 offences recorded by the service in the first half of the year were for tickets issued to SkyTrain passengers who rode without paying the fare, or for liquor violations. [continues 140 words]
Cocaine seizures at Pacific Highway District borders, including Douglas, are piling up. In the past year, border officers at the five ports - Douglas, Pacific Highway, Huntington, Aldergrove and Boundary - seized more of the illicit drug than was confiscated across B.C. and the Yukon in all of 2005. Since last July, more than 400 kilograms of cocaine has been seized at the five ports, compared to 184 kg across the region in 2005. There's no new initiatives to tackle the problem; however, Canada Border Services Agency's Paula Shore said Wednesday border officers are "learning every day" how to better intercept such shipments. [continues 297 words]
U.S. officials are irritated at the pace of Canada's response to extradition requests. And they're citing as a prime example the case of Vancouver marijuana seed king Marc Emery, who faces charges in the U.S. of marijuana distribution and money laundering. "This aEPrince of Pot' aE"A Emery aE"A still hasn't had his first extradition hearing," said Jeff Sullivan, criminal prosecution chief for the U.S. Attorney office in Washington State. "It's those kinds of things that are frustrating to us." [continues 180 words]
Ecstasy smuggling across the B.C. border has exploded, according to a cross-border team of law enforcers. "Blaine is a hotspot for ecstasy smuggling," said Roy Hoffman, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement assistant special agent in charge. "We're seeing a huge amount of ecstasy heading for points in the U.S." Hoffman was among officers to brief the Cascadia Mayors Council meeting June 30 in Surrey on work of the Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET), which pools policing efforts from both sides of the border to bust smugglers. [continues 307 words]
Tackling Greater Vancouver's drug problem requires a regional approach, a GVRD-led forum on drugs and crime heard Monday. Tom Hetherington, addiction services manager for the Pacific Community Resources Society, was among presenters who warned that local plans are often uncoordinated. "Problematic substance use crosses municipal boundaries - all people are impacted by it," he said later. "If one was to put a lot of pressure on the Downtown Eastside, those people will move somewhere. They may move to New Westminster or Burnaby or Surrey." [continues 332 words]
In the conclusion of our two-parter, Sam Cooper talked with parents and authorities on what's available for treatment for drug addicts - and the lack of viable options Talking to parents of crystal meth addicts, two common themes jump out. A child hooked on meth will mess up the whole family. And just getting an addicted family member into treatment, let alone getting them to stay in treatment, is a nightmare. It comes down to a sickening dilemma that burns Kerry Jackson. The White Rock woman's son, Ryan Jackson, committed suicide after checking himself out of treatment in St. Paul's hospital, just 10 months after getting hooked hard on meth. [continues 916 words]
I applaud Coun. Catherine Ferguson for her stand on drug paraphernalia being sold in an East Beach market. I was surpised the first time I saw their showcase filled with drug pipes. Unfortunately, my surprise turned to anger when the manager was rude and dismissive in his refusal to remove or at least relocate the items to a less prominent part of the store. I have made it a point to take my business elsewhere. The added exercise and my personal protest make me feel much better. J. Boyle White Rock [end]
Editor; As a parent of a child who grew up in an environment in which drug use fears have always been present, I support the intent behind White Rock Coun. Catherine Ferguson's reaction of wanting to remove drug use items. If councils in White Rock and Surrey really want to have an impact that shows we are serious about stopping drug killers, let's get at those cigarettes and alcohol. These drugs really kill people and ruin lives, to a degree, statistically speaking, much worse than anything coming out of a hash pipe. [continues 235 words]
Like so many laws, the initiative to ban the sale of drug paraphernalia is a bad idea wrapped in good intentions. Within days, the City of Surrey will debate a bylaw to ban the sale of bongs, crack pipes and assorted gear used to consume drugs. White Rock Coun. Catherine Ferguson is on a similar crusade. The idea is commendable, and few can argue the merits. But the worth of any resulting law must be questioned, along with the ramifications. It is already illegal to sell cigarettes to anyone younger than 19, yet it's common practice. The law is tough to police, and harder to enforce on a sector of the business community where profit margins can be slim and fleeting. [continues 304 words]
Concerned community members, ranging from young teens to grandparents, gathered to learn about the hidden dangers of crystal meth and the risk it poses to everyone. "This forum is not a just a one-night stand, it's an opportunity for the community to come together as one and fight this," Mayor Judy Forster told a crowd of hundreds at the Star of the Sea Parish Centre May 24. Members of police and fire departments, counseling services, and the Surrey school district formed a panel to help address the public's questions and concerns about recognizing and combating the problems caused by crystal meth. [continues 566 words]
Surrey will be home to a medium-to large-scale treatment centre, if a current proposal goes ahead as planned, Mayor Dianne Watts says. An unnamed Surrey philanthropist is proposing the facility, which will be subject to extensive community consultation in the coming months. The philanthropist, who has another facility in the United States, already owns the land and is keen to get the treatment centre started in Surrey. Details of the facility are being kept tightly under wraps until the plan is formalized, likely closer to the year's end. [continues 410 words]
An NDP bill to restrict retail sales of cold medicines used in the production of crystal methamphetamine doesn't impress Solicitor General John Les, even after it received support from B.C. Federation of Police Officers. Les said he received extensive advice about drug labs, and police management has made it "very clear our issue is the bulk importation" of crystal meth components. Police have intercepted shipping containers from Asia containing large amounts of precursor chemicals, and large, sophisticated labs run by organized crime. [continues 62 words]
Editor; Re: Lilly Kopp's letter (Peace Arch News, May 13) When we consider adverse effects of a drug on an individual and a community, a distinction must be made between the effects of the drug and the effects brought on by prohibition. The use of any drug will have side effects such as brain damage and would exist regardless of the legality of the substance. Things like theft, gang violence, deaths, spread of disease and organized crime are all results of prohibition. [continues 218 words]
White Rock hosts its first ever forum on crystal meth next week. The forum will be moderated by Mayor Judy Forster, who enlisted the main speaker, Kerry Jackson, a White Rock women who lost her only son to meth. After a rapid fall into meth addiction and related psychosis, Jackson's son killed himself. Forster said Jackson was a natural choice to speak at the forum, with an inspirational and informative story emerging from her tragedy. "She lost her only child to crystal meth and a lot of people would have let it defeat them," Forster said. [continues 283 words]
Summer is around the bend and that's when youth have lots of time to hang out and experiment. Teen Power, an event next Friday at First United Church, will let them know exactly what drug experimentation will do to their bodies. The evening is for youth aged 13-18, and is being put on by First United youth minister Alison Wainwright. Presenters will cover today's prevalent drugs, including cocaine, pot, ecstasy, alcohol and meth, and dole out some hard facts about drug use. [continues 157 words]
Heavy users of electricity will be reported to police under a bill introduced in the legislature this week. Near the end of this month, municipalities will have B.C. Hydro records on demand, data they'll turn over to police to determine if spikes in power use were caused by a marijuana grow operation. Grow-ops require high power consumption, typically three to 10 times the amount used by a normal home. "This will help local authorities shut down marijuana grow operations more quickly and more efficiently," Minister of Public Safety John Les said Thursday, as he introduced Bill 25. [continues 292 words]
Addictions Programs Gets An Extra $8m An extra $8-million injection of provincial money to combat crystal meth and other addictions includes nearly $2 million a year more for Fraser Health Authority. Three-quarters of the new funding announced last week will go to youth addictions treatment, while the balance is dedicated to crystal meth treatment. "The number of youth addictions treatment beds will increase by approximately 75 per cent and allows us to build capacity to ensure youth across the province get the assistance they need," health minister George Abbott said. [continues 375 words]
Construction is underway on a new detox centre for addicts in the region that will be based in Surrey. Creekside Withdrawal Management Centre, to be run by Fraser Health Authority, will be adjacent to Surrey Memorial Hospital. It will replace the existing Maple Cottage Detox in Burnaby. The change means a net increase of detox beds from 25 to 30 and there will be six dedicated beds for youth - up from three previously. Fraser Health also opened a new nine-bed Withdrawal Management Unit last year in Chilliwack General Hospital. [continues 54 words]
