Pubdate: Fri, 16 Jan 2009
Source: Recorder & Times, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2009 Recorder and Times
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/kR0Q3nSw
Website: http://www.recorder.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2216
Author: Michael Jiggins
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?135 (Drug Education)

COPS HIGH ON DRUG EDUCATION

For kids growing up in Brockville today, their first brush with 
street drugs involves much harder substances than dealers would have 
tempted them with just five or 10 years ago.

That fact - one of the most worrisome trends observed by Brockville 
police - makes it essential to keep drug education programs in 
schools, according to Acting Inspector Scott Fraser.

"When we were growing up you heard about marijuana or hash. The kids 
now, they're faced with the question of, 'Do you want some ecstasy, 
cocaine, crack, methamphetamine?'" said Fraser.

"It's certainly a challenge now to keep educating the community and 
particularly the kids about the dangers of that stuff because that's 
what they are getting offered now."

He stressed it's not just the risk of a first-time user developing an 
addiction that's a concern.

There can be serious health consequences due to the nature of the 
drugs they're experimenting with and how people are getting their high.

"If you tried smoking (marijuana) once, chances are you're not going 
to die from it," said Fraser. "These people now, maybe the first time 
they're going to try something, it's taking an injection of 
methamphetamine - which is a real high risk."

Fraser made the comments this week in an interview with The Recorder 
and Times to discuss the illegal drug trade in Brockville.

He spent as much time talking about education and prevention as he 
did about enforcement.

The reason, he said, is simple: ultimately it's efforts to keep 
people from using drugs in the first place that will make a difference.

"Every kid out there, at one time or another, is going to come to 
that point where they have to make a decision. They're either going 
to try it, or they're not going to try it," explained Fraser.

In terms of dealing with a "drug problem," Fraser said he believes 
Brockville remains fortunate when measured against the experiences in 
other cities.

Drugs are here, of course, and he conceded some of what police are 
seeing - notably the increasing prevalence of crack cocaine - is 
"fairly scary."

"We're still fortunate that it's a small group doing it in our 
community and I think that's the educational payoff," said Fraser.

Brockville police's "drug unit" is actually one officer, Detective 
Mark Noonan, who is also attached to the joint forces Project 
Islander team that utilizes resources from Brockville, Gananoque and 
the Ontario Provincial Police to do enforcement on a regional level.

Last year, Brockville police investigated 130 drug-related incidents 
in the city, about the same number as 2007 when there were 123.

However, those statistics don't measure the full extent of the 
problem, noted Fraser.

For instance, there are many crimes police investigate that officers 
know are connected to the drug trade, including break-ins to 
vehicles, homes and businesses, thefts, and assaults.

The pursuit of prescription narcotics - which can fetch up to $30 per 
pill - has resulted in pharmacy break-ins in the city and across the 
province as well as thefts from individuals.

There's also the social cost in terms of the impact on families and 
neighbourhoods, added Fraser, who witnessed the worst kind of 
devastation drugs can have on people and communities while working in 
Vancouver before he came here in 1998.

"It's the root of all other small crimes. One person who's addicted 
to crack and needs five rocks a day, 50 bucks, is going to have to go 
out and find that $50 every day," said Fraser.

Those so-called spin-off crimes have become more prevalent, 
particularly over the last five to 10 years as the drug of choice 
drifts away from marijuana.

Initially, the trend was toward ecstasy and LSD, said Fraser.

Now, he said it's crack cocaine, pharmaceutical narcotics like 
Oxycontin and, increasingly, methamphetamine.

David North, executive director of Tricounty Addiction Services, said 
that trend shouldn't be a surprise.

He suggested it's a byproduct of a society that emphasizes getting a 
bigger rush from products that are readily available, from Red Bull 
on a convenience store shelf to highly caffeinated specialty coffee drinks.

"As a society, we've taken upon ourselves the more laissez-faire 
(attitude) toward getting people to buy into mood-altering 
substances, which we now consider to be legitimate, brain stimulating 
and that can help you do your work better because you can focus," 
explained North.

"There's a parallel, which, I think, is not accidental. ... The drug 
trafficking has just gone along with the trend," he added.

That police are seeing meth on the streets raises the spectre of 
intravenous drug use and the discarded needles that have plagued some 
Ontario cities, especially in the southwestern area of the province.

"We're starting to see more needles (although) we're still far behind 
the times, which is good," said Fraser, adding, "But we are seeing an 
increase in it."

North, too, said his office is beginning to see and hear evidence 
that both meth and narcotics like Oxycontin are appearing more frequently.

But he stressed, "When you get police evidence of drugs moving into 
town, you get social service evidence 18 to 24 months afterwards."

Tricounty's No. 1 drug treatment service continues to be alcohol, 
noted North, followed by marijuana and crack.

As for when people finally reach out, he said that depends on the 
addict and at what point the costs of drug use begin to outweigh the benefits.

Benefits?

Indeed, North said people get involved in drug use because it engages 
them socially, elevates their mood and gives them a sense of empowerment.

"They are exciting and recreational," he said, at least until the 
"burn factor" kicks in.

That's when relationships begin to crumble, money disappears, health 
issues surface or the police show up on their doorstep.

"Then we begin to hear people say, 'I think I've got a problem,'" said North.

Both Fraser and North indicated being in a small city can assist 
their efforts to deal with Brockville's drug problem.

For North, users don't have the anonymity they do in a big city so 
it's harder to disguise a habit, especially from family.

"Usually in small towns, people begin to see more quickly that 
problems are arising," he said.

North said he just wishes he had a bigger budget to hire more 
addiction counsellors who could travel in the circles younger people do.

Even if they'd still be reacting to a problem, he said that "direct 
service contact" might change some lives.

"To be where they are. To be able to mix with them and share the 
notion of risks they might be taking as well as alternatives to 
resolve some of the challenges they face," said North.

For police, meanwhile, a plus of fighting drug crime in a small town 
is the intelligence advantage officers get.

"A lot of people know other people's business," smiled Fraser.

And they're not afraid to pick up the telephone and call when they're 
concerned about something happening on their block.

"There's a lot of good people in this community and they want to see 
it continue to thrive and stay safe," he said.

"So they let us know."
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