LOCAL DRUG TRENDS SCARY

There really is only one word to describe the trends Jasper is seeing
when it comes to drug used and that word is scary.

For years this, and other tourist destinations popular with young
people, have been associated with the use of marijuana. While police
would likely tell you that it's certainly a drug they would like to
see less of around here, it's slowly and surely becoming a secondary
concern for parents worried about what their kids might be getting
involved with.

As reported in this week's Booster (see Page 3) two people were
hospitalized after taking the drug ecstasy and RCMP also recently
made a drug seizure that included ecstasy pills laced with methamphetamine.

While many residents would like to believe that Jasper hasn't changed
much when it comes to drug use in recent years, the police and
Community Outreach Services have been saying for some time that
problems with more serious drugs (from cocaine to methamphetamine to
ecstasy) are now a reality here.

The keys to dealing with an increased presence of these drugs are
enforcement and education.

Based on the number of court cases involving drug charges, it seems
the police are making this issue one of their top priorities, but
it's not always easy for them. The RCMP is sometimes aware of certain
people who could potentially be involved in dealing drugs but face
serious challenges when it comes to collecting the required evidence
to arrest suspects.

From an educational perspective, our younger generation receives
more drug awareness messages than they ever have in the past. From
presentations by AADAC and other organizations in the schools to
various outreach efforts by Community Outreach Services to reach
teens and young adults, there are many people doing their part in an
attempt to address the problem.

Perhaps the best educational strategy is to ensure some fear is
instilled in those who are considering taking drugs. With the
extremely harmful effects that experts claim many of these drugs
cause, that shouldn't be too difficult to achieve.