COPS HIGH ON DRUG EDUCATION

For kids growing up in Brockville today, their first brush with
street drugs involves much harder substances than dealers would have
tempted them with just five or 10 years ago.

That fact - one of the most worrisome trends observed by Brockville
police - makes it essential to keep drug education programs in
schools, according to Acting Inspector Scott Fraser.

"When we were growing up you heard about marijuana or hash. The kids
now, they're faced with the question of, 'Do you want some ecstasy,
cocaine, crack, methamphetamine?'" said Fraser.

"It's certainly a challenge now to keep educating the community and
particularly the kids about the dangers of that stuff because that's
what they are getting offered now."

He stressed it's not just the risk of a first-time user developing an
addiction that's a concern.

There can be serious health consequences due to the nature of the
drugs they're experimenting with and how people are getting their high.

"If you tried smoking (marijuana) once, chances are you're not going
to die from it," said Fraser. "These people now, maybe the first time
they're going to try something, it's taking an injection of
methamphetamine - which is a real high risk."

Fraser made the comments this week in an interview with The Recorder
and Times to discuss the illegal drug trade in Brockville.

He spent as much time talking about education and prevention as he
did about enforcement.

The reason, he said, is simple: ultimately it's efforts to keep
people from using drugs in the first place that will make a difference.

"Every kid out there, at one time or another, is going to come to
that point where they have to make a decision. They're either going
to try it, or they're not going to try it," explained Fraser.

In terms of dealing with a "drug problem," Fraser said he believes
Brockville remains fortunate when measured against the experiences in
other cities.

Drugs are here, of course, and he conceded some of what police are
seeing - notably the increasing prevalence of crack cocaine - is
"fairly scary."

"We're still fortunate that it's a small group doing it in our
community and I think that's the educational payoff," said Fraser.

Brockville police's "drug unit" is actually one officer, Detective
Mark Noonan, who is also attached to the joint forces Project
Islander team that utilizes resources from Brockville, Gananoque and
the Ontario Provincial Police to do enforcement on a regional level.

Last year, Brockville police investigated 130 drug-related incidents
in the city, about the same number as 2007 when there were 123.

However, those statistics don't measure the full extent of the
problem, noted Fraser.

For instance, there are many crimes police investigate that officers
know are connected to the drug trade, including break-ins to
vehicles, homes and businesses, thefts, and assaults.

The pursuit of prescription narcotics - which can fetch up to $30 per
pill - has resulted in pharmacy break-ins in the city and across the
province as well as thefts from individuals.

There's also the social cost in terms of the impact on families and
neighbourhoods, added Fraser, who witnessed the worst kind of
devastation drugs can have on people and communities while working in
Vancouver before he came here in 1998.

"It's the root of all other small crimes. One person who's addicted
to crack and needs five rocks a day, 50 bucks, is going to have to go
out and find that $50 every day," said Fraser.

Those so-called spin-off crimes have become more prevalent,
particularly over the last five to 10 years as the drug of choice
drifts away from marijuana.

Initially, the trend was toward ecstasy and LSD, said Fraser.

Now, he said it's crack cocaine, pharmaceutical narcotics like
Oxycontin and, increasingly, methamphetamine.

David North, executive director of Tricounty Addiction Services, said
that trend shouldn't be a surprise.

He suggested it's a byproduct of a society that emphasizes getting a
bigger rush from products that are readily available, from Red Bull
on a convenience store shelf to highly caffeinated specialty coffee drinks.

"As a society, we've taken upon ourselves the more laissez-faire
(attitude) toward getting people to buy into mood-altering
substances, which we now consider to be legitimate, brain stimulating
and that can help you do your work better because you can focus,"
explained North.

"There's a parallel, which, I think, is not accidental. ... The drug
trafficking has just gone along with the trend," he added.

That police are seeing meth on the streets raises the spectre of
intravenous drug use and the discarded needles that have plagued some
Ontario cities, especially in the southwestern area of the province.

"We're starting to see more needles (although) we're still far behind
the times, which is good," said Fraser, adding, "But we are seeing an
increase in it."

North, too, said his office is beginning to see and hear evidence
that both meth and narcotics like Oxycontin are appearing more frequently.

But he stressed, "When you get police evidence of drugs moving into
town, you get social service evidence 18 to 24 months afterwards."

Tricounty's No. 1 drug treatment service continues to be alcohol,
noted North, followed by marijuana and crack.

As for when people finally reach out, he said that depends on the
addict and at what point the costs of drug use begin to outweigh the benefits.

Benefits?

Indeed, North said people get involved in drug use because it engages
them socially, elevates their mood and gives them a sense of empowerment.

"They are exciting and recreational," he said, at least until the
"burn factor" kicks in.

That's when relationships begin to crumble, money disappears, health
issues surface or the police show up on their doorstep.

"Then we begin to hear people say, 'I think I've got a problem,'" said North.

Both Fraser and North indicated being in a small city can assist
their efforts to deal with Brockville's drug problem.

For North, users don't have the anonymity they do in a big city so
it's harder to disguise a habit, especially from family.

"Usually in small towns, people begin to see more quickly that
problems are arising," he said.

North said he just wishes he had a bigger budget to hire more
addiction counsellors who could travel in the circles younger people do.

Even if they'd still be reacting to a problem, he said that "direct
service contact" might change some lives.

"To be where they are. To be able to mix with them and share the
notion of risks they might be taking as well as alternatives to
resolve some of the challenges they face," said North.

For police, meanwhile, a plus of fighting drug crime in a small town
is the intelligence advantage officers get.

"A lot of people know other people's business," smiled Fraser.

And they're not afraid to pick up the telephone and call when they're
concerned about something happening on their block.

"There's a lot of good people in this community and they want to see
it continue to thrive and stay safe," he said.

"So they let us know."