DRUG ISSUES KEEP POLICE, RESOURCE PROVIDERS BUSY

Nanaimo's police force devotes a significant amount of time, resources
and money to tackling the city's drug issues.

Const. Gary O'Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman, said police are kept busy
dealing with issues that arise from the use and trade of legal and
illegal drugs, as well as the related homelessness, addiction and
petty crime issues.

"A significant amount of our time is dealing with drug issues," he
said.

O'Brien said Mounties have identified three main drug markets in the
Harbour City.

There is the downtown open-air market, dominated by crack cocaine and
heroin; crack shacks and drug houses peppered throughout the city,
where users can pick up an assortment of drugs; and the bar scene,
where drugs like ecstasy, cocaine and marijuana are commonly obtained.

O'Brien said this year, police have formed a partnership with downtown
business and bar owners, enabling police to have a better handle on
what is happening in the area.

But staying on top of the activities of drug dealers is
difficult.

"It's the flavour of the month," said O'Brien. "That's the struggle of
police work, trying to stay abreast or one step ahead."

Marijuana grow operations continue to be a major problem in Nanaimo,
he added, and police estimate that there are between 50 to 100 grow
ops in the city at any given time.

O'Brien said as long as there is a market for illicit drugs, there
will be a supply. While police are charged with enforcing the laws, it
is also important to address the homelessness and addiction issues.

Nanaimo has a range of services to help addicts in the
community.

Marg Fraser, Vancouver Island Health Authority's manager of mental
health and addiction services, said the health authority has a street
outreach team consisting of two nurses with a caseload of between 200
and 300 people. The service is to expand from five to seven days a
week in the coming months.

"Alcohol and marijuana are very commonly used, but I think among the
street population, we're seeing crack cocaine," she said.

Fraser said VIHA also provides 14 medical detoxification beds through
a contract with Clearview Detoxification Clinic, a drug and alcohol
outpatient counselling service, 10 short-term crisis beds in a
supported living house and a contract with NARSF Programs Ltd. to
provide a needle exchange service downtown.

There are also 160 new units of supportive housing for people who are
homeless or at risk of homelessness to come, part of a recent
provincial announcement.

"That is going to be huge in terms of people being more successful in
dealing with serious addiction issues," she said. "You can't just put
a roof over people's heads and hope they get sober, they need 24-hour
support."

Fraser said those units - a mix of supported, low-barrier and
no-barrier housing - will be a first for the city.

Other groups, such as the Salvation Army, Haven Society and John
Howard Society, provide transitional supportive housing, but
long-term, low-barrier housing is currently non-existent, she added.

VIHA also provides addiction resources specifically for
youth.

Gord Cote, director of NARSF Programs, said the company is in the
process of re-establishing six community beds for youth with addiction
issues, after taking over the contract earlier this fall.

Youth and family counselling, community outreach and addiction
counselling in schools is provided directly through VIHA.

Carrie Morris, program coordinator for Discovery Youth and Family
Addiction Services, said counsellors are helping about 60 youth and
families through this service.