Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Copyright: 2007 Times Colonist Contact: http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481 POLICE CAN'T WIN THE DRUG BATTLE Officers Deserve Credit For Targeting Dealers, But The Only Real Solution Is To Reduce Demand Full credit to Victoria police for a successful undercover operation aimed at disrupting a major local source of heroin and cocaine. But don't expect "Project Plato," as the exercise was dubbed, to have any effect on problems on Victoria's streets in terms of making drugs harder to get or more expensive or curbing crime. The five people charged will go through the legal process and, if convicted, will likely face prison time. Every dealer will likely be looking nervously over their shoulders for a while. But removing one source of drugs, even a large one, will have no effect on the problems affecting life in the community. There are many others willing to step in and supply the market. Police are still performing an important job with such efforts, which this time involved about 50 officers working for more than a month to gather evidence. Enforcement gets dealers off the street and provides at least some deterrent value for others considering the illegal trade. We expect police to take on the difficult challenge. We should also recognize that it will make little or no difference in terms of the drug problems that affect community life and public safety. As long as there is strong demand for drugs, new suppliers will emerge to fill any gaps in the market. Consider the results of one of the largest drug seizures in Canadian history. In 2000, police scored a stunning enforcement success. Officers in Vancouver grabbed 99 kilograms of heroin destined for the streets; at the same time police in Toronto seized 55 kilograms. The raids removed about six million doses in one decisive operation. Coincidentally, University of British Columbia researchers were in the middle of a major project tracking 1,400 drug users on the Downtown Eastside. They were able to look at the seizures' effect on the streets and reported their findings in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The seizures had absolutely no impact. Heroin was just as available. Prices actually dropped slightly following the seizures. Ten people had died of overdoses in the month before the raids; an average 13 a month died in the three months following the raids. Police deserve credit for their success in this case and others like it. But our drug problems will not be fixed, or even reduced, by attacking the supply side. As long as demand exists and big profits are possible, drugs will be available. Our efforts need to be on the demand side. Education, to keep people from starting drugs. Harm reduction, to help them manage their use. Treatment and support, to help them quit. Without a real commitment to those elements, enforcement efforts are doomed to fail. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek