COPS CAN'T KEEP UP WITH B.C. DRUG TRADE

If you're a drug user, B.C. is the Shangri-La of Canada.

Statistics Canada reports B.C. had the highest rate of drug incidents
of any province in the country in 1997. There were 430 drug incidents
for every 100,000 British Columbians that year, nearly twice the
national average.

More startling is the high proportion of drug offences in B.C.
compared to the rest of Canada.

In 1997, our province was responsible for 25 per cent of all the
cannabis incidents in the country, 28 per cent of the cocaine offences
and 61 per cent of all heroin incidents. Our population comprises 13
per cent of the nation's.

B.C.'s rate of drug charges is 26 per cent higher than the national
average. But the drug problem is so prevalent, fewer than one in three
cannabis offences resulted in criminal charges.

"We don't prosecute nearly as many narcotics charges as they do
percentage-wise in other provinces," said Kelowna prosecutor Michael
Dirk. "There are more marijuana charges in Alberta and Saskatchewan
than in B.C."

The Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics compiled the figures after
consulting with police departments across the country.

The stats show the farther west you go in Canada, the higher the crime
rate, said senior analyst Robert Allen.

"It's the same in the U.S., B.C. has historically the highest crime
rate in Canada," he said. "B.C. and California have very transient
populations."

Police aren't surprised by the trend. B.C. is known as a major
exporter of marijuana and importer of heroin and cocaine. And they
blame a lax court system, not enough police funding and the West Coast
lifestyle as contributing factors.

Kelowna RCMP are struggling to keep up with the volume of information
pouring in on marijuana grow operations. The local Mounties take down
an indoor dope farm about once a week. Yet they receive about a tip a
day on where to bust next.

"With the resources we have... we're only touching the tip of the
iceberg," said RCMP spokesman Garth Letcher. "With today's legal
standards, there's only so much we can do."

Other provinces have stiffer sanctions, which attracts users to B.C.
The milder climate and the fact you can get free hypodermic needles
also helps, said RCMP Cpl. Fergus Rodine.

"A lot of people can afford it. Loggers and fishermen work hard and
party. There's a market for it. You don't go to Estevan, Sask. to be a
drug dealer," he said. Local police concentrate more on stopping the
suppliers than charging the users. They'd sooner go after someone
trafficking cocaine than someone who grows pot because a coke addict
is more likely to rob a bank, said Rodine.

The heroin problem plaguing the Lower Mainland is also spilling over
into the Okanagan. It's getting "more and more prevalent" in the
Valley, said RCMP Cpl. Randy Hundt.

But people can't rely on police alone to fix the growing drug problem,
said Letcher.

"There have to be changes among all partners involved, the community,
police and judicial system," he said.