POLICE SEEK RURAL DRUG HELP

COUNTRY police are pleading with the public to help them crack down on the
changing face of the drug culture in regional WA.

Cannabis is still considered the most prevalent drug in country WA but
police are concerned about increasing hauls of harder drugs such as
amphetamines and the popular party tablet, ecstasy.

Simon John Cornish, 27, of Metricup, was found dead of a suspected drug
overdose at a rave party near Yallingup on Monday morning.

Mr Cornish's death was the dark legacy of an Easter holiday party which was
fuelled not only by a canvas of light and sound but also a vast cocktail of
drugs.

Dunsborough police found a discarded bag of cannabis on the ground at the
amphitheatre party venue when they arrived at 3.40am.

In a further raid on the property about 10am, they allegedly found a
34-year-old Margaret River man in possession of amphetamines and ecstasy
tablets.

Carl Atwell is expected to face possession charges in Busselton
Magistrate's Court this morning.

Bunbury detectives raided a house in the South-West city recently and
alleged they found amphetamines with a street value of $85,000 buried in a
backyard shed.

Richard John Labriola, 37, of Minninup Road, Bunbury, was remanded on bail
last week to appear in Bunbury Magistrate's Court on May 8 to face two
charges of possessing a prohibited drug with intent to sell or supply.

Sen. Const. Simon Underwood of Dunsborough police, said information from
the public was the key weapon in cracking down on the region's escalating
hard drugs problem.

"The times are catching up with us and the harder drugs are on the
increase," Sen. Const. Underwood said.

He said an increase in bikie gang numbers and unemployment in certain
country areas were big contributors to the growing drug problem.

Margaret River police say there is a more permissive drug culture in the
South-West than other areas of the State.

Sgt Ian Pheasant said a relaxed attitude to drug taking, mainly related to
cannabis, was beginning to extend to ecstasy among the younger generation.

A council-initiated report shows the rate of drug crimes in Margaret River
higher than any other shire in the State and double the metropolitan
drug-crime rate.

The crime audit and community safety study, prepared by the Matrix
Consulting Group for the Augusta-Margaret River Shire Council, found the
drug crime rate in Margaret River, for possession, use, dealing or
manufacturing drugs, was more than 16 offences per 1000 people in 1996-97.

The rate in Perth in 1996 was seven offences per 1000 people. The
South-West average was 9.5.

The report found a permissive attitude to drugs and an influx of visitors
during peak holiday periods combined to push up the number of drug-related
crimes.

Sgt Pheasant dismissed the figures as exaggerated. He said they most likely
did not take into account the transient population.

"I would say that the drug usage in this town was probably at a slightly
higher rate than a lot of places in the State but to say it is the worst
place in the State is an exaggeration," he said.

The job for police was made harder because the town's residents did not
consider smoking cannabis to be a serious crime.