CITIES CALL FOR HELP ON DRUGS

Delegates at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Vancouver
called on the province to help deal with their two main community drug
problems - crystal meth addiction and marijuana grow operations.

Led by delegates from Vancouver Island, the convention unanimously endorsed
a resolution calling for increased education about the hazards of
methamphetamine use and on-demand detox beds for addicts who are seeking
help to get off the drug.

Esquimalt Coun. Ruth Lane told delegates about a recent tour of Victoria
streets with B.C. Solicitor-General John Les, during which they met young
people using meth.

"One hundred per cent of those kids said, 'Get me off this drug, this
poison,'" she said.

The problem is that there are only five beds for youth drug detox for all
of Vancouver Island.

Saanich Coun. Bob Leslie said education is needed in schools to reach
pre-teens who are now being exposed to the drug and don't understand its
health hazards.

"It's the 13, 14, 15-year-old boys and girls being open on the street with
sales," he said. "Mentally, they can be ruined for life."

The UBCM also endorsed resolutions from Kelowna and Abbotsford aimed at
eliminating residential grow operations.

Kelowna called for a provincially funded pilot project in Abbotsford and
Surrey to be extended province-wide.

The pilot project used a team of electrical inspectors, fire and police
staff to conduct safety inspections of grow houses, and shut them down
based on municipal fire code and other regulations.

Abbotsford Mayor Mary Reeves received unanimous support for her community's
call for better regulation of sales of hydroponic systems used in marijuana
grow-ops.

Municipalities want sellers of hydroponic equipment to be required to
submit records of customers and transactions to local police, similar to
regulations governing pawn shops and second-hand stores.

The resolution notes that children are present in about 20 per cent of
marijuana grow operations, which contain often hazards such as weapons,
booby traps and other drugs as well as fire hazards associated with wiring
and hot lights.