HEED'S ADVICE TO DELEGATES: CONCENTRATE ON TRAFFICKERS

Having an honest discussion about drug policy remains extremely
difficult in Vancouver, says the former head of the Vancouver police
drug squad.

Insp. Kash Heed, police commander for the southeast portion of the
city, states his frustration in an article in the March 2006 issue of
The International Journal of Drug Policy.

The journal will be distributed at an international conference on
reducing drug-related harm April 30 to May 4 at the Hyatt Regency and
Fairmont hotels.

Up to 1,500 delegates from around the world, including local police,
politicians and health workers, will discuss drug addiction at the
17th annual conference.

If Heed's article is any indication, a clash of views will ensue on a
topic heightened this month with Mayor Sam Sullivan's renewed call for
drug maintenance programs for addicts.

"The drug strategy is often characterized in the media by heated
debate, disagreement and bitterness," wrote Heed, who was head of the
drug squad for almost three years. "Points of principle have become
counterproductive on pragmatic grounds. Stakeholders, subject to their
different world views, ideologies and frames of reference challenge
other stakeholders, while academics, policy makers and practitioners
who operate largely within their own communities reinforce this condition."

The world of drug policy debate contrasts the simple and profitable
world of the drug dealers, said Heed in the article, adding that the
drug trade's profitability makes it hard to stop.

While he points out the police priority is to catch dealers and
disrupt the drug trade, enforcement alone has not stemmed the flow of
drugs, raised the price, lowered the purity or discouraged people from
buying drugs.

Enforcement is one of the pillars in the city's Four Pillars drug
strategy. The others are treatment, prevention and harm reduction.
According to Heed, Vancouver officers are reaching an "increasing
consensus" that drug dependency is primarily a health issue over a
legal one.

"However, these same officers are frustrated with the limited
treatment resources and addiction services available despite all the
attention that has been given to the Four Pillars approach," he wrote.

The inability of "the system" to respond to immediate needs creates a
huge credibility problem for any drug strategy. Asking an addict to be
patient and wait for an available slot for detox and treatment is
"frankly, a waste of time," he said.

The crisis will pass and addicts will simply pick up their usual
habits. The opportunity to intervene will be lost and that addict will
view the system as "useless and ineffective," he added.

Police have said the majority of crime in the city is linked to the
drug trade, usually in the form of a drug addict committing a crime to
obtain goods or money in exchange for drugs.

Heed estimated that 5,000 of the city's hardcore addicts are
responsible for about half of the crimes committed in the central
business district and Downtown Eastside.

"I am frustrated by fighting what I see as an unwinnable battle.
Continually dealing with addicted users is not the best way for police
to spend limited and valuable police resources. The focus of police
resources and serious criminal penalties should remain for producers,
suppliers and traffickers."