METH WARS

City Fights Back With Study That Author Says Deserves Praise

When it comes to methamphetamine, Chilliwack is leading the way.

Not leading the way in meth labs or use of the addictive drug, but a
study the city has commissioned on how to respond to the dangers of
meth that will be distributed to all 185 municipal governments in the province.

"Chilliwack deserves to be applauded for heading [the meth problem]
off at the pass," said Darryl Plecas, the UCFV criminology professor
who prepared the report. Dr. Plecas holds the RCMP research chair at
UCFV, and is the director of the Centre for Criminal Justice Research.

"To Chilliwack's huge credit they invited us to do this in a way
where they said, 'produce a document that will not only be of help to
us, but to other communities as well.'"

Meth use is a widespread problem of varying degrees in different
communities, but Plecas and co-authors Amanda McCormick and Irwin
Cohen of the B.C. Centre for Social Responsibility looked at
jurisdictions and their best practices across North America to make
recommendations.

"We told Dr. Plecas to go in without any regard for present
legislation, turn over every stone and find out what was under there," said

Coun. Sharon Gaetz, who is chair of the Public Safety Advisory Committee.

"Chilliwack is paying for that to happen and part of that is because
we know there are no borders with drugs."

Plecas is an expert on drugs and crime, and he has a somewhat unique
approach to looking at the issue of crimes associated with drug use.

His take on the issue from one angle may look like touchy-feely and
liberal, and from another as harsh and conservative. It may be
surprising to hear a criminologist speak in one breath about
prevention and treatment for the problem of drug use, and then in the
next about the "stupid" approach towards sentencing in this country.

"Whatever you're going to do to respond to this problem it better be
multifaceted," Plecas told the Times in an interview, later
commenting on the trend towards lower sentences for drug crimes: "The
only word to describe sentencing in Canada is 'stupid.'"

Sentences of lengths such as two or three months in jail for drug
crimes are "nonsense" and do nothing for public safety or for the
rehabilitation of those convicted, according to Plecas. The lengths
of sentences over the last few decades has decreased significantly
but, for Plecas, the need for longer sentences is not necessarily as
a punishment, but so that people can get help and prevent future
crimes. It's as simple as that.

"What on Earth would we expect to accomplish with a three-month
sentence?" he asks, adding: "One of the things that is important, at
least I would argue from my involvement and our research, is looking
at the drug problem from a health and public safety perspective
rather than simply as an enforcement issue."

An important reason for the report is the educational reasons alone,
as increasing knowledge about the issue with a look at best practices
can itself make a dent in the problem, according to Gaetz.

"We know that drug use is down among high school kids across Canada,"
Gaetz said. "Grow-ops have been cut in half in B.C. So one of the
conclusions is that when you start focusing, it has an effect."

While Plecas confirms that grow-op reductions have been seen in B.C.,
the province is alone in Canada in that regard. The approach to
reducing grow-ops needs to be multifaceted including issues such as
public safety and health. Engineers have even done an analysis and
calculated the province could avoid building another dam if their
were no marijuana grow-ops because of the amount of hydro used, even
adding an environmental issue to the drug war.

As to the issue of the recent federal government's move towards
mandatory minimum sentences, Plecas says he thinks it's unfortunate
we have to go down that road, but he understands the government's
frustration with judges.

And while he does not like the idea of mandatory minimums for first-
or even second-time offenders, the revolving door some offenders have
with prison has to end.

"For a variety of different reasons judges will not consistently be
respectful of the enormity of community concern about crime
problems," he said. "They will not consistently sentence people who
are highly recidivistic."

Another important approach to reducing meth use addressed in the
report parallels the war on tobacco: health. The long-term
consequences of meth use are really unknown, and it appears there can
be some motor and mental function damage that are resistant to recovery.

"Part of what has helped in Europe is, like with cigarette use,
becoming more aware of the health harms," he said.

The City of Chilliwack spent $6,000 on printing 300 copies of the
report, one each to be sent to the 185 municipalities in the
province. The remaining copies will be used by the RCMP, the Centre
for Criminal Justice Research, UCFV, the city and municipal
libraries. The 110-page report is available to be downloaded on-line
at www.chilliwack.com/meth.