C.B. DRUG WAR HAS ITS UPS AND DOWNS

SYDNEY -- About 150 drug addicts in the Cape Breton District Health
Authority's jurisdiction are still waiting for treatment, says the
authority's CEO.

John Malcolm said efforts by the Cape Breton Partnership to curb drug
use have resulted in fewer prescriptions ending up on the streets but
problems associated with prescription misuse and narcotic abuse
haven't gone away.

"The only way you'll win this war is if the community wants to win
this war," Mr. Malcolm told officials of Cape Breton Regional
Municipality on Tuesday night.

Police Chief Edgar MacLeod challenged the public to call in suspected
drug activity to Crime Stoppers' anonymous 562-TIPS phone line.

"I can tell you that 99 per cent of the time, the common (motivating)
factor behind crime is drugs," the chief said. "We're making
tremendous progress . . . but it's got to take more than police."

The Cape Breton Partnership, led by the health authority, includes
police, community services and justice officials and Cape Breton
University representatives. It was formed in 2004 after eight sudden
deaths in the regional municipality linked by police to the painkiller
OxyContin.

That year the municipality upped the police budget by $2 million in
response to the deaths and rampant crime. However, very little of the
money was directed to drug enforcement methods like wiretaps,
surveillance or police raids backed by warrants.

Only in recent weeks have police begun to aggressively crack down on
drug activity again, after appointing veteran detective Sgt. John
O'Rourke to take over the force's street-crime unit.

Meanwhile, the partnership's proposal that the province develop an
electronic prescription drug monitoring program has been approved but
the system has not yet been activated. And there's been no progress in
convincing the legislature to pass laws requiring pharmacies to report
suspected drug abusers to police, Mr. Malcolm said.

A methadone program introduced in Cape Breton in 2004-05 has treated
85 addicts, most of whom are still on the path to improving their
lives. Mr. Malcolm noted the need is still great for area youth, who
must travel to Halifax for treatment.

A public meeting on the addictions issue will be held May 9 at the
Glace Bay fire hall on Reserve Street at 7 p.m.