Pubdate: Thu, 01 Sep 2005 Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN) 0eda0-6f6e-4a31-96b3-20f70e02aefd Copyright: 2005 The Leader-Post Ltd. Contact: http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361 Author: Anne Kyle TOUGH DRUG MESSAGE SENT Illegal drug activities on the Pasqua First Nation will not be tolerated and those involved will be dealt with harshly by the community, Chief Elaine Chicoose said. "We are sending a very strong message that on Pasqua First Nation we have a zero tolerance when it comes to drugs,'' Chicoose told reporters Wednesday at a news conference in Regina. "We want everyone to know that Pasqua is not a place to do business, if your business is drugs,'' she said. Flanked by her band council and community members from both on and off-reserve, and Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) Vice-Chief Lawrence Joseph, Chicoose warned severe penalties will be levied against anyone involved in the sale, use, possession, cultivation, manufacture or promotion of illegal drugs in that community. Sanctions against anyone charged and convicted of a drug offence include loss of employment, termination of any benefits provided by the First Nation, eviction from band-owned housing, public posting of names of offenders and, in severe cases, banishment from the First Nation. "Illegal drug activities are causing misery and turmoil in our community, and we will not tolerate their existence on Pasqua First Nation,'' Chicoose said, explaining Pasqua First Nation Chief and council are taking ownership of this issue and are committed to doing everything possible to eliminate the illegal use of drugs in their traditional territories. The news conference was called in response to a Aug. 21 RCMP drug investigation in which drug enforcement officers uncovered 7,592 marijuana plants growing on the Pasqua First Nation, with a street value at about $7.5 million. Six men, ranging in age from 18 to 57 were arrested and charged with a number of drug offences. "Pasqua First Nation leadership was in the process of implementing a strategy to address illegal drugs on reserve when these arrests occurred and the discovery of this marijuana grow operation has made us more determined to take every measure to ensure that we have a safe and healthy community,'' she said. Chicoose said the Pasqua First Nation will present a victim impact statement to the courts asking that the individuals charged in connection with the alleged grow-up be ordered to stay off the reserve as a condition of their release. The FSIN chiefs are "totally united in this fight against illegal drug activities on reserves,'' and have also developed strategies to discourage youth involvement in gang-activity in their communities, Vice-Chief Joseph said. The chiefs have done the work now it is up to the governments to provide the money to implement those strategies, he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh