THE WAR AGAINST ILLEGAL DRUGS

Town Council Shows Its Support For Antidrug Initiative By Resident
Brian Pearson

When Brian Pearson was invited to appear before Carleton Place town
council on Feb. 13, he went with the hope that council would "pretty
much embrace" his idea for an initiative against drugs.

Based on the response he received that evening, council certainly
appears to be headed in that direction.

Pearson who has been writing a series of articles for the Carleton
Place Canadian in regards to the recent death of his 16-year-old son,
in what he calls a "drug related tragedy, made a presentation before
council on TRIAD (Tri-Agency Initiative Against Drugs).

In his impassioned address that night, he stated that he was there to
address the "human side" of drugs.

"There is pain - the pain is obviously for me personally...," he said
as he spoke about the impact the death of his son Brett had had on
his life. "You can't imagine it unless you have been through it...I
would not want to wish that on anyone."

TRIAD would be aimed at curbing first-time illegal drug use and drug
dealing by local youth with Pearson envisioning the initiative being
led by the Town of Carleton Place in partnership with the Carleton
Place detachment of the OPP and local schools of the Upper Canada
District School Board.

The way in which it would work, as he outlined in the brief
distributed to members of council, is that any resident of Carleton
Place would be able to walk into the Town Hall, police station or any
participating school to make a written or verbal report of
drug-related concerns involving youth.

One of the TRIAD partners would then be obligated to provide the
person making the report with a follow-up "call back" within 14 days.

While Pearson made it clear information supplied on a TRIAD form
could not be re-used in criminal or civil proceedings, one thing it
would do, he said, is give people a feeling that they are being heard.

The benefit of the program, as he states in the introductory page of
the brief, is that it will provide residents of Carleton Place with
"a simple, practical and accountable way to contribute information,
safeguard their children and receive regular progress reports from
the Town as it builds a knowledge base and actively measures TRIAD's
impact on drug-related events of all kinds." The target date set by
him for the program to commence is September 2007, coinciding with
the start of the next school year.

Pearson didn't mince words in stressing the importance of Carleton
Place getting involved in a program like this, possibly even
receiving some form of status to run a pilot project. In his view,
such a program was needed in the town because the illegal drug
problem is "epidemic," because "we have had a death," and because of
the resulting "backlash in the community."

"I see it (TRIAD) working," he remarked. "It will work if the town
can just step up and provide its public presence."

Calling this a chance "you don't want to pass by," Pearson emphasized
that his initiative was not motivated by a spirit of vindictiveness.
"For me, it is to make Carleton Place unique - there is an
opportunity that should be seized."

He also expressed his desire to be part of a Youth Committee being
spearheaded by Councillor Jerry Flynn, whether it is as a member or
contributing in some other form.

Terming Pearson's presentation "rather blunt and candid," Mayor Paul
Dulmage thanked the town resident for his courage "to come and give it to us."

Stating that while previously council may have felt a focus on drugs
would be bad for the image of the town, Dulmage gave Pearson "my
word" that he would correct the situation.

Also commending Pearson for his presentation, Flynn stated that an
initiative against drugs would be a "great thing" for Carleton Place
to be known for.

"We can't let that go," he asserted. "The onus is on us to do our
part....Our youth are in trouble. One is dead."

Noting that an amendment would be made to ensure Pearson was on the
Youth Committee once it was formed, Dulmage further stated that TRIAD
looked like "a good plan."

"If you cut the food chain (in illegal drugs) at the bottom,
generally the food chain will weaken for sure," he commented.

Rather than the image of Carleton Place becoming tarnished "because
of the effort on drugs," Pearson suggested that it might have just
the opposite impact. "We might see families moving here because of it."

Dulmage concluded the discussion on the TRIAD proposal by stating
that "we are going to be a leader in this, not a follower."

Pearson was gratified by the mayor's response to his initiative,
telling The Weekender a few days after the council meeting that "it
meant a lot to me."

"As I said at the meeting, he (Dulmage) has the energy and people
skills to get us whatever permission we need to get my initiative up
and running," he stated, adding that he is also "very confident that
Councillor Flynn will be assembling a first class Youth Committee."