COMMUNITIES SEEK HELP WITH DRUG PROBLEMS

VANCOUVER - Delegates started off the Union of B.C. Municipalities
convention Wednesday with a call for provincial help to deal with
their two main community drug problems: crystal meth addiction and
marijuana grow operations.

Led by delegates from Vancouver Island, the convention unanimously
endorsed a resolution calling for increased education about the
hazards of methamphetamine use and on-demand detox beds for addicts
who are seeking help to get off the drug.

Esquimalt Coun. Ruth Lane told delegates about a recent tour of
Victoria streets with B.C. Solicitor-General John Les, during which
they met young people using meth.

"One hundred per cent of those kids said, 'Get me off this drug, this
poison,'" she said.

The problem is that there are only five beds for youth drug detox for
all of Vancouver Island.

Saanich Coun. Bob Leslie said education is need in schools to reach
pre-teens who are now being exposed to the drug and don't understand
its health hazards.

"It's the 13-, 14-, 15-year-old boys and girls being open on the
street with sales," he said. "Mentally, they can be ruined for life.

A delegate from the district of Kent gave an example of a "catch and
release" effect of law enforcement. A meth addict broke into his
mother's home, she called 911, but police released him. He broke in
again and cut himself, threatening suicide, but he wasn't held for
medical reasons, and broke in a third time. "She eventually had to
flee the home," he said.

The UBCM also endorsed resolutions from Kelowna and Abbotsford aimed
at eliminating residential grow ops. Kelowna called for a
provincially funded pilot project in Abbotsford and Surrey to be
extended around the province.

The pilot project used a team of electrical inspectors, fire and
police staff to conduct safety inspections of grow houses and shut
them down based on municipal fire code and other regulations.

Abbotsford Mayor Mary Reeves received unanimous support for her
community's call for better regulation of sales of hydroponic growing
equipment used in pot farms. Municipalities want sellers of
hydroponic equipment to be required to submit records of customers
and transactions to local police, similar to regulations governing
pawn shops and second-hand stores.

The resolution notes that children are present in about 20% of
marijuana grow ops, which contain often hazards such as weapons,
booby traps and other drugs as well as fire hazards associated with
wiring and hot lights.