Pubdate: Tue, 04 Oct 2005 Source: Williams Lake Tribune, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2005 Williams Lake Tribune Contact: http://www.wltribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1226 Author: Tom Fletcher Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) UBCM - CONVENTION IN VANCOUVER FIGHTING CRIME AND DRUGS VANCOUVER - Delegates started off the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention Wednesday with a call for provincial help to deal with their two main community drug problems, crystal meth addiction and marijuana grow operations. Led by delegates from Vancouver Island, the convention unanimously endorsed a resolution calling for increased education about the hazards of methamphetamine use and on-demand detox beds for addicts who are seeking help to get off the drug. Esquimalt councillor Ruth Lane told delegates about a recent tour of Victoria streets with B.C. Solicitor-General John Les, in which they met young people using meth. "One hundred per cent of those kids said, get me off this drug, this poison," she said. The problem is that there are only five beds for youth drug detox for all of Vancouver Island. Saanich councillor Bob Leslie said education is need in schools to reach the preteens who are now being exposed to the drug and don't understand its health hazards. "It's the 13-, 14-, 15-year-old boys and girls being open on the street with sales," he said. "Mentally they can be ruined for life." A delegate from the District of Kent gave an example of a "catch and release" effect of law enforcement. A meth addict broke into his mother's home, she called 9-1-1, but police released him. He broke in again and cut himself, threatening suicide, but he wasn't held for medical reasons, and broke in a third time. "She eventually had to flee the home." The UBCM also endorsed resolutions from Kelowna and Abbotsford aimed at eliminating residential grow operations. Kelowna called for a provincially funded pilot project in Abbotsford and Surrey to be extended province-wide. The pilot project used a team of electrical inspectors, fire and police staff to conduct safety inspections of grow houses, and shut them down based on municipal fire code and other regulations. Abbotsford Mayor Mary Reeves received unanimous support for her community's call for better regulation of sales of hydroponic systems used in marijuana grows. Municipalities want sellers of hydroponic equipment to be required to submit records of customers and transactions to local police, similar to regulations governing pawn shops and second-hand stores. The resolution notes that children are present in about 20 per cent of marijuana grow operations, which contain often hazards such as weapons, booby traps and other drugs as well as fire hazards associated with wiring and hot lights. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek