Does Vulcan County have a drug problem?

Yes.

People would be naive to believe otherwise, Cpl. Larry Wiltshire, who heads up the Vulcan RCMP detachment, told Vulcan County's municipal planning commission last Wednesday morning.

But the problem in this county is no more prevalent than it was at the other seven detachments where he has worked, he said.

"I don't think there's any community out there that doesn't have a drug problem," said Wiltshire.

He added it's not so bad that anyone walking down the street could be suspected of being on drugs.

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Police Chief Backs Proposal For More Beds

Work can begin on a new 50-bed addiction treatment centre - a move that addresses a main recommendation of the province's crime reduction report - after city council on Monday approved its location in an industrial park.

"These 50 beds are a small step in the right direction," said Stacey Petersen, executive director of Fresh Start, which hopes to have the facility open by December 2008.

Fresh Start, which operates a 28-bed facility in Abbeydale, can now finalize the purchase of a vacant lot in the northeast Greenview Industrial Park.

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The overall drug problem in Alberta is down, but cocaine-related issues are on the rise, according to a recent report by a provincial task force.

The Crime Reduction and Safe Communities Task Force said offences involving cocaine increased by 12 per cent last year, according to the Calgary Sun, versus drops in overall and marijuana drug offences.

The indication that cocaine is the biggest drug problem in the province echoes local RCMP statistics, which put cocaine-related issues at the top of the list in terms of cases involving drugs.

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CALGARY -- Cocaine abuse is Alberta's biggest drug problem, with reported offences jumping by 12% last year, according to a provincial task force.

That's compared to a 1% dip in overall drug offences across the province in 2006 - with those involving marijuana witnessing an 8% reduction, according to the report compiled by Alberta's Crime Reduction and Safe Communities Task Force and released last week.

Red Deer Tory MLA Mary Anne Jablonski, who sat on the province's crystal meth task force, yesterday said cocaine abuse is now more cause for concern than crystal meth, which topped the radar for many years.

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Calgary Set To Break Annual Homicide Record; Opposition Doubts Government's Resolve

With Calgary on pace this year to break its annual homicide record, the provincial government is vowing to get tough on crime and is turning to a landmark study for the tools it needs.

The newly released 77-page report from the Crime Reduction and Safe Communities task force offers potentially the most in-depth look ever at the roots of crime in the province and the fallout it has on all Albertans.

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Drug houses and theft are among the issues police need to tackle in south Edmonton.

That's the word from residents at a community meet-and-greet yesterday at Mill Woods Town Centre conducted by the EPS and the city's Safedmonton program.

"I've always been suspicious about a number of people coming and going to a house near me, but I don't really know what to do," carpenter Blaine Edwards, 24, told Sun Media.

After talking to cops temporarily set up at the mall yesterday, Edwards now knows he can submit tips anonymously.

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Cocaine abuse is Alberta's biggest drug problem, with reported offences jumping 12% last year, according to a provincial task force.

That's compared to a 1% dip in overall drug offences across the province in 2006.

Those involving marijuana saw an 8% reduction, according to the report compiled by Alberta's Crime Reduction and Safe Communities Task Force and released last week.

Red Deer Tory MLA Mary Anne Jablonski, who sat on the province's crystal meth task force, said yesterday cocaine abuse is now more cause for concern than crystal meth.

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Plans New Strategy to Keep Repeat Offenders From Getting Bail

EDMONTON - Premier Ed Stelmach announced a wide-ranging crime strategy Tuesday that will hire more police and prosecutors, add new treatment beds for drug and alcohol addictions, and try to deter judges from granting bail to chronic offenders.

The premier offered an emotionally charged response when asked about statistics that show Alberta's crime rate dropping in most categories.

"All the statistics didn't mean anything, not at all, to the mother or father that has lost a young person to violence," Stelmach told reporters.

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One of the two researchers in the world researching opium is here at the University of Calgary. Canada Research Chair in Plant Biotechnology and biological sciences professor Dr. Peter Facchini holds a license to cultivate 100 opium poppies on campus.

"For the last fifteen years, I have been working on understanding the biochemistry and molecular and cell biology of how opium poppy can make medicinal compounds such as morphine and codeine and related painkillers and analgesics," said Facchini.

Recently Facchini was given a $650,000 grant by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to research new ways opium poppies can be used for medicinal and industrial purposes.

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Calgary Police Say Criminal Groups Constantly Moving Back And Forth Over Boundary

EDMONTON -- Police fear the bloody gang war erupting in the Vancouver area could spill over into Alberta.

In the past week, four men have been fatally shot in B.C.'s Lower Mainland as rival groups fight each other over the lucrative drug market.

A total of 10 people have died in the violence since mid-October.

Gangs in Edmonton and Calgary have direct ties with the same criminal groups involved in the B.C. shootings, said Staff-Sgt. Kevin Galvin of the Edmonton Police Service's organized crime unit.

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From the outset, chairman Heather Forsyth was adamant the province's task force on crime reduction would go beyond predictable demands for more police. "We need to probe deeper than that," the Calgary MLA and former solicitor general told the committee last spring as it geared up for public hearings.

This week, Forsyth presented an intriguing report that lives up to her commitment in substantial measure with its call for crime prevention steps, along with some tougher law enforcement.

Important recommendations, including more treatment beds for drug addicts, more services for the mentally ill and improvements to aboriginal education (as set out in the Learning Commission report) will help prevent crime.

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EDMONTON - A B.C. gang war that has left at least 10 people dead this year will reach Alberta's capital, the head of the Edmonton police department's crime section said Wednesday.

"There is a gang war in B.C. It's coming here if it isn't already here," Staff Sgt. Kevin Galvin said.

"Each one of these groups are connected to each other. The three main groups in B.C. have people in Edmonton."

However, the hot economy in Alberta doesn't encourage such gang violence among the more than 24 organizations in the city, he said. In fact, signs point to the opposite, Galvin said.

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More Police, Prosecutors On The Way

As Calgary police investigated another shooting death on city streets Tuesday, Chief Rick Hanson welcomed the Stelmach government's new $470-million crime-reduction strategy. But he said it won't deliver the number of officers he needs.

The province's response Tuesday to the Crime Reduction and Safe Communities task force report also garnered support from victims of crime, although opposition parties labelled it empty pre-election rhetoric.

The government blueprint, which is short on specifics, pledges to put more police officers on the streets, target repeat offenders and enforce grittier prevention and treatment efforts.

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The gang violence that has rocked Vancouver in recent weeks could be on its way to Edmonton, the head of the city police gang unit said yesterday.

"It's coming here if it's not already here," said Staff Sgt. Kevin Galvin.

The comments come as Vancouver police this week moved to set up a new task force in the wake of a succession of gang shootings in the city. The latest incident was Tuesday, when two men died in a hail of bullets on one of Vancouver's main thoroughfares. And on Saturday, Hong Chao Huang, a reputed leader of the notorious Circle Boys gang, was gunned down in front of his mansion.

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A report issued yesterday by a nine-member task force examining ways to keep our communities safer doesn't pull any punches when it comes to tougher justice for the 15% of hard-core criminals who commit 60% of the crime.

Nor does the 80-page report indulge in hang-'em-high, lock-'em-up and throw-away-the-key theatrics.

Contrary to the critics who expressed fears in advance of the report's release that it would be heavy on punitive measures and gloss over the root causes of criminal behaviour, this is a well-balanced effort.

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But True Success Will Be Measured In Safer Streets And Unhappy Crooks

In more than three decades as a cop, city police Chief Rick Hanson has never seen anything like it. The city, Ottawa and now the province are actually talking about fighting the criminals preying on the public, and sometimes even starting to do something about it.

"I'm hopeful. I'm enthusiastic. They're saying the right things," says the city police chief, who has been a breath of fresh air because he doesn't explain away the idiots and gets the difference between helping those who truly need help and cracking down on the many pukes and predators who have had far too many breaks far too long.

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Proposal Takes Aim At 'Rampant' Substance Abuse

Concerned with violent crime and rampant drug and alcohol abuse, the Alberta government will unveil today a new crime strategy that will bolster police officer ranks while also targeting the roots of substance abuse. Though government officials were tight-lipped Monday, a source said the strategy will include more police officers. The plan will also look at how Alberta's police forces can co-operate better to tackle rising threats such as organized crime and youth crime.

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With more and more illicit crystal methamphetamine manufacturing taking place in rural Alberta communities, there is a growing need for heightened awareness of the dangers posed to families and other users of rural properties, say police.

In order to promote awareness the RCMP, Alberta Agriculture and Food, and Rural Crime Watch have come together to provide the public with more information about what to look out for and how to react when dealing with clandestine labs and their toxic byproducts.

"If you do see some of these things, get away from them," RCMP Cpl. Rick Goldstein, who heads "K" Division's Chemical Diversion Program, told the Gazette. "It's a hazard to everyone and everything. This is a huge environmental concern in the community."

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Ted Goodnough and Thompson Bros. Construction Ltd. agree on one thing - - there are a lot of drugs on the streets of Fort McMurray.

"It's the drug capital of the world," said Goodnough.

But while the 54-year-old truck driver says that drug culture also extends well into the workplace - creating "an environment of fear and intimidation" - Darell White disagrees.

"That's like saying that everybody who works in Fort McMurray is a crackhead, and that's just not true," said the health and safety manager for Thompson and its 1,200 employees.

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CALGARY -- A city poppy expert is teaming up with a medicinal marijuana producer in Saskatchewan to develop new health applications for the notorious plants. University of Calgary biology professor Peter Facchini has received a three-year, $650,000 federal grant to work with the plants, best known for their illicit derivatives.

"As plants, opium poppies and cannabis evoke a lot of emotions," said Facchini. "To me, they're basically lettuce.

"These plants in themselves aren't bad plants. It's a question of understanding the basics of how they produce medicinal products like morphine and codeine."

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