EXPLORING SHAMBHALA'S DARK SIDE

For three days over the past 14 years, the Shambhala Music Festival
has become the equivalent of a small town with over 10,000 people
pouring into the area. And even though organizers and fans rave about
the festival's success, RCMP sergeants Fred Mansveld and Derrick
Donovan have seen the event's dark side.

"I've worked a lot of places throughout BC where there were similar
activities and things got better each year, but I don't foresee that
happening with this event. We've seen from our focus that things have
gotten worse. We've been very fortunate, I believe, that there haven't
been more fatalities and serious injuries as a result," said Sgt.
Donovan with West Kootenay Traffic Services.

"In the three short years that I've been here the instances involving
drugs at road safety checks surrounding Shambhala are going up by 20
to 30 per cent every year, which to me is concerning," he said.

The West Kootenay Traffic Services worked in partnership with the West
Kootenay Integrated Road Safety Unit on the "front lines" before,
after and during Shambhala to ensure road safety, including road
safety checks in the Salmo area.

"This year we ramped up our exodus enforcement. We were stopping
vehicles in road safety checks to try and mitigate the risks and
checking for impaired driving, and we did find people who were
impaired leaving the site by drug or alcohol, or being impaired by
fatigue," said Sgt. Mansveld with the West Kootenay Integrated Road
Safety Unit. "Some of these people look like they've gone through the
ringer, and although it sounds funny; it translates to people driving
off the road."

Mansveld said that there was a major car accident near Fernie, where a
vehicle that was carrying three people who had left Shambhala,
collided with a cement truck.

"I'm sure there are numerous other accidents in the region and beyond
because people are coming from the states, from Ontario, and all kinds
of places," he said.

One of the major concerns both Mansveld and Donovan have regarding
Shambhala is the fatigued drivers leaving the event.

"Last year, after the festival, we were inundated with crashes, I
believe there was a total of nine crashes, that we were able to track,
some were serious, some were minor in nature, caused by people falling
asleep who were tired and over exerted, and tried to make it home. If
they've been partying all weekend they are a real hazard to other
motorists on the highway, and we see that," said Mansveld.

In addition to fatigued drivers, the road safety units see impaired
drivers coming through their road checks both before and after the
festival.

The RCMP is recommending charges for eight individual cases of
possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking
related to Shambhala.

"In my opinion, from what I've seen, a substantial amount of vehicles
and people heading to that festival are of course there to have a good
time, but also are going to partake in some kind of alcohol or drug
use, and perhaps not everybody, but a lot of people are, and this is a
big concern that we have, because this goes on for three days in the
heat and then people leave," said Mansveld.

"What we're all concerned about is the open drug trafficking and the
open drug and alcohol use takes place at the rave."

He said that there are younger festival-goers who go to Shambhala to
experiment with drugs for the first time and Mansveld is very
concerned about this.

"Some of the drugs that are out there now, although people may think
they are buying ecstasy they are not buying ecstasy. They are buying a
cocktail of various drugs," he said. "The people who are out there
trafficking drugs are out there to make money, that's their reason for
being there, it's not that they want everyone to have a really great
time; they're out there to make money."

Mansveld said that ecstasy can often be made of a combination of
methamphetamines, ketamine and ephedrine along with various other drugs.

"We have first evidence of numerous, numerous overdoses that have
taken place there. As a matter of fact, I know there is a tent there
to take care of that. That's a huge concern, when you have that many
people overdosing, and being treated," he said.

Donovan and Mansveld feel that the police presence during Shambhala is
a significant drain on police resources.

"Our province has less money, and it's a high per centage of our
resources that are spent on this activity both pre and post and I
think if tax payers out there knew the true cost - from processing
files to court time to the officers time being here from other parts
of the province - they would share our concern," said Donovan.

Despite the positive effect of Shambhala on local economies, he said
that Salmo residents would rather not be the home of the festival.

"I would say at least 80 to 90 per cent of Salmo residents are opposed
to having this festival, even though they know there is money coming
into the community because of this event, it's just not a festival
they think should continue," said Donovan.