DRUG FREE ZONES A GOOD IDEA, BUT NOT ENOUGH

Drug Free Zones around local schools are a good start but the whole
community has to be part of drug prevention, says a local drug abuse
counsellor.

"I would like to see family involvement because it's not going to
change unless you have family involvement," said Jill Martins, youth
services coordinator for the North Peace Alcohol and Drug Counselling
Service (NPADCS).

Martins is also a member of Urban Hope, a local crime prevention
committee. Urban Hope has joined with School District 60 to introduce
Drug Free Zones around area schools beginning in September.

The program is intended to deter anyone from using or trafficking
drugs and to provide students with a safe learning environment by
designating each school, and the surrounding two-block radius, as drug
free. The zones will be in effect year-round, and anyone caught
possessing or trafficking drugs within the zones will be charged.

"It's a great step for the community -- they're taking notice that
there's a drug problem in this town," Martins said. "One person's drug
use affects at least five other people. Unfortunately you can't
enforce drug free homes and families."

The primary drugs of choice locally are alcohol, marijuana and
mushrooms, Martins said, and users fall into four categories:
recreational users, regular users, abusers and those who are
chemically dependent.

"Parents need to know how to how to make sure a recreational user
doesn't become anything else," she said.

Currently, all students caught violating school drug and alcohol
policies are referred to the NPADCS.

"I think the schools are doing a good job of enforcing the
zero-tolerance policy," Martins said.

Both Martins and fellow committee member Lynn Locher, manager of
children and family services for the North Peace Community Resources
Society, expressed concern that if sentencing under the legal system
took several months, it would have little effect in deterring
teenagers from ending their drug use.

"It would be nice to do the time for the crime when it happens,"
Martins said. "If the kid is in the addiction phase, that's a great
way to get their attention.

"The (legal) system takes a long time. Kids are impulsive and
immediate, so I think the consequences need to be immediate."

Urban Hope chairman Ted Pimm said he will invite a federal Crown
Counsel to the committee's next meeting to answer questions.

"I want to make sure we have consensus on this before we move ahead,"
Pimm said.