DRUG ROUNDUP WELCOME SIGHT

We give a tip our hat to the Mounties for last week's drug dealer
sweep on downtown.

The Nanaimo RCMP detachment acted on the complaints of numerous
downtown merchants Friday, conducting one of the biggest roundups in
recent memory.

In a dramatic conclusion to an undercover operation spanning many
weeks, police assembled a list of some 26 names of key individuals
who supply the bulk of drugs on Nanaimo's streets, then went after them.

It's no small accomplishment, given today's revolving-door judiciary
system in which drug dealers are routinely released the next day, if
not hours after their arrest.

But the detachment members, who are genuinely interested in improving
the community and preserving of law and order, went ahead and did
what's expected of them

We say it's about time.

For ages we've heard people complain that the police aren't doing
enough about the increasingly seedy nature of downtown, and now
they've done something.

While most of these dealers are addicts themselves, by selling drugs
they perpetuate a lifestyle that erodes the very fabric of society.

Addiction and crime go hand-in-hand, and Nanaimo is no different.
Which raises the question of what we'll do as a society to address
this bigger issue.

In a perfect world every addict would quit using, but we all know
that's not about to happen tomorrow. Mounting evidence from
criminologists, sociologists and other experts suggests harm
reduction is a major step in dealing with addiction.

Some examples of harm reduction strategies are already starting to
prove themselves - needle exchange programs and safe injection sites
in Vancouver's worst neighbourhoods seem to be working. Let's hope
government continues to explore harm reduction as a longer-term solution.