Pubdate: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 Source: Whitehorse Star (CN YK) Copyright: 2005 Whitehorse Star Contact: http://www.whitehorsestar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1493 Author: Jason Small DRUG HOUSES' PRESENCE IRKS RESIDENTS Some residents' anger about downtown drug houses bubbled over at a meeting on the topic Tuesday evening. NDP Leader and Whitehorse Centre MLA Todd Hardy hosted his third meeting about downtown and the drug problem in the area. During the gathering, at the Grace Church at the corner of Eighth Avenue and Wheeler Street, a nearby resident expressed his displeasure with the lack of action in getting rid of a known drug house. Mike Smith (not the Kwanlin Dun First Nation chief of the same name) told the audience of about 50, how much it bothered him living near an alleged drug house on Wheeler Street. Smith said he's lived in the area, near the church, for the past three or four years. He said the drug houses run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. "And they can't stop it," he said, referring to the RCMP. "Why can't you close it down? I'll bloody close it down." He said he's heard of a woman who moved in near the alleged house and when she complained about it, the RCMP said if she has a problem, she can move. Hardy and some of the other people at the meeting noted that more needs to be done than just send the police after the drug dealers. They said that other root problems, such as poverty and lack of education about drugs, also need to be addressed. A very upset Smith said he just needs the problem taken care of because it isn't right that he has to see the dealing going down near his home. He then stormed out of the meeting. Someone else asked if the representatives from the RCMP could say what is happening when dealing with places such as the alleged drug house on Wheeler Street. Staff Sgt. Tim Walton, the new RCMP detachment commander for Whitehorse, testily said he could not and would not respond to what was being raised at the meeting. Hardy cautioned that just hiring more police isn't going to solve the problem since if that's all it took, it would have been done a long time ago. "It is far bigger," he said. Another person pointed out that if something is not done, there could be a problem of a vigilante group rising up to deal with these problems. "There's enough hotheads around," the man said. Hardy himself acknowledged the problem when talking about the location of the meeting. "Frankly, (we're) right across the street from drug houses," he said. One man at the meeting, Jason Leonard, 29, told his story of dealing with addiction in explaining what can lead someone into such a situation. Leonard noted that when he was 16, he still couldn't read or write so he ended up quitting school and going to work full-time. From the time he was 16 until he was 21, Leonard did drugs and/or alcohol everyday. He also abused people because of his addiction. He said he turned to drugs and alcohol because he didn't believe in himself and nobody else thought he could amount to anything. Leonard said what needs to be done is to help those people who are addicted by telling them that someone believes in them and help them realize they are not worthless. Leonard and Rob Young, who was also at the meeting, have started a group called the Straight Arrow Serenity Club, which operates out of the basement of the Salvation Army building. The group tries to offer support, guidance and encouragement to those suffering from addiction. Also during the session, people heard that while cocaine is still a major problem in the city, crystal meth is coming and some people are already using it. Hardy talked about the fact that at the last meeting last fall, it was agreed there would be a drug summit held by the Yukon government to bring everybody involved in these matters to discuss the various issues. The NDP leader said the matter was left in the hands of the government. However, he was becoming frustrated because nothing had been done to start the meeting. He said it's been three months and it appears nothing has been done on the issue. "Every month that goes by, we are losing people to drugs," he said. "I'm extremely frustrated." He accused the Yukon Party government of "dragging its heels" on the summit. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom