Pubdate: Wed, 24 May 2006
Source: Jasper Booster (CN AB)
Copyright: 2006 The Jasper Booster
Contact:  http://www.jasperbooster.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/788

LOCAL DRUG TRENDS SCARY

There really is only one word to describe the trends Jasper is seeing 
when it comes to drug used and that word is scary.

For years this, and other tourist destinations popular with young 
people, have been associated with the use of marijuana. While police 
would likely tell you that it's certainly a drug they would like to 
see less of around here, it's slowly and surely becoming a secondary 
concern for parents worried about what their kids might be getting 
involved with.

As reported in this week's Booster (see Page 3) two people were 
hospitalized after taking the drug ecstasy and RCMP also recently 
made a drug seizure that included ecstasy pills laced with methamphetamine.

While many residents would like to believe that Jasper hasn't changed 
much when it comes to drug use in recent years, the police and 
Community Outreach Services have been saying for some time that 
problems with more serious drugs (from cocaine to methamphetamine to 
ecstasy) are now a reality here.

The keys to dealing with an increased presence of these drugs are 
enforcement and education.

Based on the number of court cases involving drug charges, it seems 
the police are making this issue one of their top priorities, but 
it's not always easy for them. The RCMP is sometimes aware of certain 
people who could potentially be involved in dealing drugs but face 
serious challenges when it comes to collecting the required evidence 
to arrest suspects.

 From an educational perspective, our younger generation receives 
more drug awareness messages than they ever have in the past. From 
presentations by AADAC and other organizations in the schools to 
various outreach efforts by Community Outreach Services to reach 
teens and young adults, there are many people doing their part in an 
attempt to address the problem.

Perhaps the best educational strategy is to ensure some fear is 
instilled in those who are considering taking drugs. With the 
extremely harmful effects that experts claim many of these drugs 
cause, that shouldn't be too difficult to achieve.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman