Charting the response of the recent Life or Meth forums, Rani Bellwood said they've been a success. "We've been overwhelmed by the response," said the Life or Meth forum organizing committee chair. "We were hoping for large numbers like this." Keeping track of attendance at the events is the first step towards gauging the impact the task force is having. The next step is charting their success on a much larger scale. Bellwood said the group will keep statistics to see if its work is having an affect on crystal meth addiction in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. [continues 330 words]
The District of Pitt Meadows has applied to B.C. Hydro for information on electricity usage in several homes. The applications are part of a three-month pilot project to eliminate residential marijuana grow-operations through safety inspections. District bylaw inspector Leslie Elchuk said staff is currently finalizing procedures. "We will start going once we get everything in place and everybody knows their job," she said. Under the program, RCMP will forward a list of suspected grow-ops to a team of four comprised of a bylaw officer and building, fire and electrical inspectors. [continues 409 words]
The owner of house where a methampethamine and ecstasy lab operated was shocked to discover that police raided the Lougheed Highway property last week. Surrey businessman Sukhvir Singh Mann learned about the July 20 bust from his real estate agent. "I was shocked. It didn't seem like anything was going on there. You couldn't even tell," Mann said. The Ridge Meadows RCMP arrested one man after raiding the isolated property near Golden Ears Chrysler on Lougheed Highway. RCMP said it was filled with chemicals used to make crystal meth and ecstasy that could blow up a radius of four blocks. [continues 419 words]
Staff are proposing the District of Pitt Meadows implement a three-month pilot project to eliminate residential marijuana grow-operations through safety inspections. Bylaws officer Leslie Elchuk said the public safety inspection program is an alternative approach to deal with marijuana cultivation. It was pitched to Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows last year by the RCMP. "The RCMP have their role. This is just another option," Elchuk said. Under the program, RCMP will forward a list of suspected grow-ops to a team of four comprised of a bylaw officer and building, fire and electrical inspectors. [continues 395 words]
A sign tells certain folks that they are not welcome: "No drug dealing or drug dealers permitted in this building." The residents make it clear, the neighbourhood and street dubiously dubbed 'The Hood' and 'Haney Harlem' is being reclaimed. Three apartments on 224th Street have signed on to the Crime-Free Multi-Housing Program. Residents who live there now tell tales of change. "I wouldn't walk on the street even in the day time two years ago," said Joyce Murphy, who has lived in an apartment near St. Anne Avenue for four years. [continues 1071 words]
Rachel Chalmers lives in a "nice residential area." Her Yennadon house is shaded under tall trees. The neighbouring lawns are well-kept and cows graze lazily in a paddock nearby. But on Wednesday, Chalmers, a young mother, had a rude awakening. "I found needles in the ditches," she said. "It is the first time I've seen one directly in front of my house." Chalmers has noticed an increase in suspicious activity on 128 Avenue in the last four to six weeks. [continues 493 words]
You are ushered in with a big welcome at Alouette Addiction Services. The hot chocolate, sweet treats and friendly smiles might be part of the lure for its newest services. "People are coming in because they really don't know where to turn next," said the organization's executive director, Ron Lawrence. First Response started Monday at Alouette Addiction Services on Lougheed Highway in downtown Maple Ridge, offering for the first time immediate counselling on treatment options. It has seen steady attendance since. [continues 161 words]
On a foggy December day, a gaunt man walks out of Alouette Addiction Services. It's a weekly trek, to "help me stay clean" he says. He is now in the system, accessing services that help him deal with his addiction. He admits it was a struggle to get there. "I've been to detox three times since I started using," said the 40-year old on condition of anonymity. "I used to use heroin and am on the methadone program now." [continues 524 words]
In the last week, local RCMP investigated six marijuana grow-operations. A total of 3,158 plants and 21 pounds of marijuana were seized by the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows detachment and six people are charged with 18 offences. It is a small chunk of an every growing problem, the detachment says. Next year however, they hope to add another tool to their arsenal. The RCMP, the District of Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge and their fire departments will discuss the feasibility the Electrical and Fire Safety Inspection Initiative next week. [continues 465 words]
The radio crackled with a dispatcher's voice. A twelve-year-old boy had drank himself into an alcohol-induced coma. His peers were in shock, one crying and himself drunk, while another, stone sober, had made the call. The paramedics asked why he didn't drink with his friends? "I'll never drink," he answered. "I did the DARE program with Constable Dan." And that's how Cnst. Dan Herbranson found out it works. Last year, 11 schools and 45 classes from Grades 5 to 7 graduated from the unique 10-week program he teaches. [continues 406 words]
You could smell the harvest as you walked to the house. An odour akin to skunk cabbages, musky and stronger than freshly cut grass. Yesterday, Ridge Meadows RCMP took down a grow operation in a house on 245 B Street. Stolen electricity led police to the residence. RCMP Cpl. C. Sundher says the growers didn't bother to mask the smell of marijuana. It was not like your average grow-op house, he noted. There were signs that people lived there. [continues 682 words]
An important question to ask when screening for depression and anxiety is a question about the individual's lifestyle. Fifty percent of people with addictions have mental illnesses and vice versa. The relationship, however, is complex. Mental health problems can act as risk factors for substance use problems. For example, depressive symptoms could lead someone to self-medicate with alcohol as a coping mechanism. Or, it could be that someone with an anxiety disorder or depression has trouble sleeping and is given tranquilizers which can then be misused. [continues 483 words]
