CITY POLICE CRAVE A FIX FOR ADDICTS

Law Officers Say Most Of The Calls They Receive Are Related To Drugs

SAINT JOHN - "I'm going to commit a crime."

Hearing those words sounded odd to Const. Michelle Bliss of the Saint
John Police Force.

It's not often someone confesses to police before committing a crime.

However, not much surprises Bliss and Sgt. Jim Fleming when it comes
to dealing with drug and drug addiction in the city.

In terms of a pre-emptive confession, Bliss said it was out of
desperation - a criminal act as a cry for help.

"I've had girls tell me they were going to commit a crime hoping the
judge would put them in (methadone) treatment," Bliss said. "They
don't want to do something bad, but they feel they need to do
something to get the help they need."

Police deal with the barrage of people in need of help due to an
opiate addiction, many committing crimes to feed their habit.

Fleming and Bliss deal with drugs and their spin-offs such as crime
and mental health issues on a daily basis. In fact, the pair agree
that dealing with a call or individual not associated with drugs is rare.

"The vast majority of crimes we deal with - car breaks, damage,
disorder, fighting, arguing - is from a desperation to get drugs,"
Fleming said. "It's very seldom we deal with someone who isn't
addicted - it's the exception."

Both have heard pleas from addicts for help. Some want to change, but
the city's lone methadone maintenance program is at capacity and not
accepting any new patients. The program involves treating the
addiction with methadone, a drug that helps reduce an addict's
cravings, and a variety of social services, including counselling.

Marj Mullin, director of the methadone maintenance program at
Ridgewood, said while the program is full, those seeking help are
encouraged to try other services to battle their addiction.

She said methadone maintenance is an intensive process and not
everyone needs it.

One option is the detox program. Also housed at Ridgewood, detox
helps people deal with several types of addictions, including
opiates. For Dilaudid addicts, the voluntary process involves taking
a prescribed amount of methadone to help quell cravings and treatment
lasts approximately two weeks.

Director of the detox program Karen Thomas said while undergoing
treatment, clients also attend group therapy sessions and other
programs to help them stay clean once they're discharged.

However, once the program is over, the patients leave without any
more methadone to help with their recovery.

"We give them tools to help them when they do leave, but
unfortunately, a lot of them go back into the same circumstances they
were in before they came to us," Thomas said.

Often, those leaving the detox program will end up relapsing and will
see police or Thomas again.

A frustrating proposition, but Thomas and staff at the detox centre
see it another way.

"Every time they come back you hope they take something away with
them that will help them stay clean," she said.

Fleming, Bliss and Thomas say the need to expand the methadone
maintenance program is great. If something isn't done soon, then the
disturbing trends they see with intravenous drug use on a daily basis
will continue.

"IV drug use is definitely on the rise," Thomas said. "I worked here
many years ago and most of the clients were male and alcoholics.

"Now it's men and women and almost all street drugs."

She said the average age of clients occupying the facility's 20 beds
has also dropped.

"I'm seeing now that it's a lot of younger people"|a lot under 25."

For Fleming, he often sees the end result of prolonged opiate use.

"Every year we lose six or seven girls who pass on either in a
comatose state in the hospital or right out on the street," he said.

For Bliss, watching someone deteriorate in front of her eyes while
asking for help has become an unfortunate reality of the job.

"When they want help, they want it today and they're ready for it
today," Bliss said.

"But a month from now they'll be back on drugs if they don't get help
and that's a frustrating issue.

"To see them out there, wasting away it breaks your heart."