DRUGS RAMPANT IN WV SAYS POLICE CHIEF

16-Year-Old's Death Sparks Investigation into Teen Drug Use

Drug use among youth is far more prevalent in West Vancouver than in
other Lower Mainland communities -- including Vancouver's urban core,
according to West Vancouver's police chief.

In remarks to the North Shore News and other media this week, Chief
Const. Kash Heed has alleged that the proportion of teens using
marijuana, ecstasy and other drugs in his newly adopted municipality
significantly outstrips anything he has seen in almost 30 years of policing.

"What we determined from our probe into this is the frequency of use
was extreme," he said in an interview with the News. "The frequency
of use in this cohort was far greater that I had experienced elsewhere."

Heed reached the conclusion following a lengthy investigation sparked
by the death in October of a 16-year-old West Vancouver secondary
student, possibly related to the use of a party drug. Following the
young woman's death Oct. 4, the department launched a probe into the
circumstances around the tragedy. In the course of the investigation,
they interviewed a large number of the community's youth. What they
learned spawned a wider ranging inquiry.

To date, more than 100 students have been interviewed. The
information gleaned, in addition to other investigative work, has led
to the arrest of three street-level drug dealers (all of them from
West Vancouver) and the identification of several mid-level suspected
traffickers. It also opened the department's eyes to extent of the
problem, said Heed.

"Certain alarm bells went off when we started to conduct interviews
with youth in this community," he said. "(Some) were saying to us:
'The question . . . should be who's not using drugs.' . . . It's
entrenched in their peer group."

The chief couldn't put hard numbers to the rate of use, but said more
than half of those interviewed took drugs of one kind or another.
Moreover, many were stacking, he said, meaning they have been using
more than one type of drug at once, or taking multiple doses.

"It's not one or two tablets a night," said Heed. "They're taking
three or four. . . . The use of ecstasy in combination with all the
others gives me reason to be more involved in doing something."

Heed brought up the issue with Global TV two weeks ago -- in an
interview aired Tuesday -- in order to mobilize the community, he said.

"For a black and white answer as to why (it's so prevalent here), I
can't give you that," he said. "I'm hoping someone else can."

But West Vancouver school district superintendent Geoff Jopson views
the matter quite differently.

"I would say I was surprised," said Jopson, in reference the Tuesday
broadcast. "I wouldn't want to suggest there aren't some challenges.
. . . There are students who misuse substances, (but) it is, in my
opinion, a limited number."

The school district is attempting to pull together a comprehensive
education program to tackle the problem, but it has not been helped
by the cancellation of the long-running DARE program, a project in
which officers would speak to students in schools in an effort to
steer them away from drugs. Heed terminated the program not long
after he took office.

"We had relied on that as particularly important," said Jopson. "It
was very successful. . . . It was a loss when it was cancelled, but
we understand there are demands on resources."

However, Heed says he quashed DARE because it wasn't working. "We
have to remember that the DARE program had been in effect in West
Vancouver for 12 years. . . . The program is very popular but it's
not very effective."

In its place, the chief wants to see a more comprehensive approach
involving parents, students, health organization, outreach workers
and teachers. While police should play a role, it must be a small
one, said Heed.

"'Just say no boys and girls.' That just doesn't work with kids," he said.

But Jopson feels police are doing too little to head off the problem
in schools. He cites West Vancouver's lack of school liaison
officers. Many districts in the Lower Mainland have police attached
to their secondary schools, ready to deal with issues as they arise
(including drugs), he said. West Vancouver, however, is an exception.

"The service level at this point isn't adequate," said Jopson. "In my
mind, those officers should be based at each of our secondary
schools; they should have an office there. . . . Almost every other
district I know of and have worked in has the same feature."

The board brought up the issue with the WVPD in September and again
this week, but so far has seen no concrete change, he said.

But Heed doesn't believe the police force is the best equipped reach
kids; that should be left to parents, educators, social workers and others.

"(Police) can only put together one piece of the overall puzzle: The
enforcement part and trying to be the catalyst to engage others," he
said. "My goal when I decided to move away from the DARE program was
to have this comprehensive strategy in place as a replacement. We're
trying to move that forward as fast as we can."

Representatives for both the school district and the WVPD will be
present at a community forum on substance misuse at West Vancouver's
Kay Meek Centre Jan. 27. For more information, visit www.sd45.bc.ca.