Editor's note: This is the first in a series of articles about substance use and rehabilitation issues in the Penticton and South Okanagan area. Dr. Lloyd Westby has had enough. Having treated as many as 80 heroin addicts at a time for more than a decade, the Penticton physician plans to write his final methadone prescription Dec. 16 "I'm quitting; I'm burnt out," said Westby, who has worked with drug addicts, including those in Vancouver's notorious east end, since 1992 [continues 748 words]
She hasn't gone to school for a year. She runs from her parents, from her grandparents, and hangs out at shady motels, going days without sleep "There's a 14-year-old girl we've been aware of recently in Penticton who's developed a severe addiction to crystal meth," says Const. Brad Myhre, a member of the Penticton RCMP's task force "Crystal meth really seems to get a grip on young people, especially young, teenage girls for some reason." Myhre spent two years in drug enforcement in Prince George before his Penticton posting two years ago [continues 507 words]
Hooked sometimes after using it only once or twice, crystal meth addicts "fry their brains", says Const. Brad Myhre of the Penticton RCMP's task force "We deal with people who are relatively long-term users and their thought processes are a mess. They're irrational and paranoid. There's no such thing as using crystal meth socially. You use it and you're insane." The drug consumes them, said Myhre. "You have no control over it and that's a real concern when it's young people we're talking about." The crystal meth high -- euphoric, aggressive and agitated -- is similar to that of smoking crack cocaine, said Myhre [continues 259 words]
A local motel owner is spiffing up his property after drug dealers were forced out by the work of a city-wide anti-drug task force. The unnamed motel was the first target of the Community Partnership on Drug Initiatives, set up two or three months ago to help clean up the city. "I'm very pleased," Mayor David Perry said Tuesday. "In a relatively short period of time, we're seeing significant results. In this particular case, it was with the co-operation of the motel owner. It was not a heavy-handed approach, but a true partnership." [continues 306 words]
Sex, drugs and no curfews -- some teens are dying to break away from their parents' rules. "The life expectancy of a kid on the streets is seven years," says RCMP Cpl. Janis Gray, who will speak in Penticton today. "It's not just street kids being lured into prostitution and the drug trade. It's everybody's children." Gray, who spent seven years in drug enforcement before her transfer to the prostitution unit in the Lower Mainland, will speak about the police perspective on drugs and sexual exploitation during a youth conference at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre. [continues 411 words]
Mountie says he and colleagues never suspected ex-partner was leaking info to crooks For months, Penticton RCMP Const. Terry Jacklin worked side by side with Const. Mark Webb without the slightest suspicion his partner had gone bad. Webb, a former member of the Penticton detachment's task force on property crime and drugs, was sentenced to two years in federal prison this week after he pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and obstruction of justice. [continues 482 words]
DARE Program, Which Was Launched By Courtenay's Const. Barry Schneider, Will Go Ahead This Month As Planned In Penticton The discovery of a lethal concentration of heroin in the body of a Courtenay drug squad officer shouldn't harm the validity of an anti-drug program in Penticton, said RCMP Staff Sgt. Pete McLaren Friday. Const. Barry Schneider, who died in Courtenay, Nov. 29, was a friend and colleague, said McLaren. The two worked together on the Burnaby drug squad. [continues 447 words]
