Port Alberni is getting another full-time youth and family counsellor as a result of enhanced youth addiction services. "We've basically doubled counseling services in Port Alberni," said Moira McLean of the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA). In addition, Nanaimo will get five new detox and supported residential beds for youth. Port Alberni teens who are referred by a doctor for detoxification would use the new facilities in Nanaimo. Community out-patient counseling services from Duncan north to Campbell River will be increased. A total of 17 new treatment beds across the island will be in place by March. "Today's announcement is going to help youths in the mid Island who are struggling with addictions," said Nanaimo-Parksville MLA Ron Cantelon. [end]
Crystal meth takes a front seat in Port Alberni next Wednesday (Feb. 21) when Headlines theatre brings the play Meth to the E.J. Dunn Middle School gymnasium. "The play is created by people who have struggled with meth addiction," says Port Alberni Crystal Meth Task Force chairwoman Gillian Trumper. The play encourages the public to jump into the performance; it's designed to stimulate a conversation on crystal meth, she said. Volunteer counsellors will be present during the performance incase it stirs up any feelings in audience members. [continues 232 words]
VICTORIA - Last week's column touched on crime rates around the province, which the B.C. government tracks by health region. If you look at violent crime, serious property crime and non-cannabis drug crime, the safest place to live in B.C. is Vancouver Island. Next best is the Interior region, which encompasses the Kootenays, Okanagan and Cariboo. In the middle of the pack is the Fraser region, the largest in the province by population, extending from Burnaby through the Fraser Valley to Hope. [continues 543 words]
Barbara Hansen is the mother of Nicole Hansen, a 19-year-old former drug user. Barbara, along with her husband, Barry, has worked hard to help Nicole get through this difficult and troubling time. It hasn't been easy. To help other parents, Barbara recently compiled the following advice aimed at parents and caregivers of teenage drug users and teens in recovery. Frantic parents frequently ask me what they should look for (or, in some cases, what they could have looked for). There are no easy ways to "save" your children from the dangers of drugs. And it's not always easy to detect drug use -- the signs of drug use is often more difficult to detect than alcohol use. I encourage all parents to educate themselves about drugs. [continues 822 words]
To the Editor, Since education kids receive about cannabis (marijuana) includes half truths, how do kids know the education about meth is the truth (Kids get educated, thanks to government, Nov. 3)? Cannabis prohibition, which relies on lies, compromises the trust needed to keep kids off hard drugs. If the truth is that cannabis should be legalized, it will help kids keep off hard drugs, unless we lose credibility. Legalized cannabis keeps kids off meth, in my opinion. Stan White, Dillon, CO [end]
The province last month unveiled a $3 million crystal meth education program to be delivered in schools. "One person using crystal meth is one person too many. And the best way to stop someone from using it is to keep them from ever starting," Education Minister Shirley Bond said. Research shows that five per cent of students in grades 7-12 have tried crystal meth. That's why educating our youth is so important, she said. The campaign will include classroom lessons, teacher resources, a parents' guide on how to talk to kids about drugs and a website at www.no2meth.ca, which features interactive games and activities, information on the effects and dangers of crystal meth and how to help a child or friend who uses it. [end]
To the Editor, I watched Prime Minister Stephen Harper's speech at the UN General Assembly last week, and am a little fearful that he was under the influence of the sulphuric - or should that be Luciferic - odours at the podium which the Venezuelan president complained of the previous day. During his 15 minutes of fame on the world stage, Mr. Harper said "Afghanistan" at least 10 times for each mention of Canada. If we are to believe the PM, our two countries are really joined at the hip, and that was even more apparent the very next day when Afghani President Hamid Karzai addressed a joint sitting of our parliament in Ottawa. [continues 190 words]
Port Alberni's crystal meth task force is hosting a family-oriented event Thursday, Sept. 28 to bring attention to services available in town for drug and alcohol treatment. Healthy Families = Healthy Communities starts at 5 p.m. with a barbecue at the Alberni Elementary School field house. Displays from various resource organizations will be up in the field house as well. From 5:30 to 7 p.m. crystal meth videos and presentations will take place in a classroom for anyone wanting more information. [continues 165 words]
To the Editor, Re: Police plan aerial assault over drugs, Sept. 1. As usual, the media present only one side of the issue. Want to reduce crime? Legalize all drugs. Want to fix the grow-op problem? Legalize marijuana. Want to fix "the needle problem"? Legalize all drugs. Want to reduce costs? Legalize all drugs. Want to reduce corruption? Legalize all drugs. Want to reduce the spread of disease? Legalize all drugs. Alan Randell Victoria [end]
To the Editor, Re: Police plan aerial assault over drugs, Sept. 1. Like jack-booted thugs, grown men over-zealously hunt down the innocent cannabis plants. Cannabis is a blessing to be accepted, not sinfully persecuted, prohibited and exterminated by heavily armed terrorists disguised as people who are paid to serve and protect. Further, my bible indicates God created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good on literally the very first page of the bible (Genesis 1:11-12 and 29-30). What does yours say? Stan White Dillon, CO [end]
A team of police officers, with assistance from the Canadian Forces, have taken flight in search of outdoor marijuana grow operations on Vancouver Island. Mounties worked alongside officers from Saanich and Victoria, with their goal during the annual project to locate and destroy marijuana grown outdoors, often on Crown land. "The location of these outdoor marijuana grow operations poses unique challenges for our officers," said Const. Darren Lagan from the RCMP's drug and organized crime awareness service and spokesperson for the operation. [continues 141 words]
