NOW IS TIME TO DEAL WITH CITY'S DRUG PROBLEMS

The Editor,

Re: "Kids proud to be drug free," the News, June 11.

Prevention programs such as C.A.R.E. are what our kids need when we are
faced with problems of the illegal distribution of drugs today to the
degree unseen in our lifetimes. It is truly shocking to know that 80 per
cent of the cases police encounter on the street police directly relate to
drugs as reported by Supt. Ward Clapham.

As much as we refuse to believe it, the number of drug-related cases is
only on the rise. Especially with our federal government endorsing the
legalization of marijuana, it is horrifying for me to envision what our
kids will have to face 10 years down the road.

With the city of Richmond becoming more and more populated, it is only a
matter of time before we are hit with the same drug problems that Vancouver
has been experiencing for the last decade.

While the core area of Richmond is evolving, it has become more accessible
for people to come from just about anywhere in the Greater Vancouver
Regional District. The construction of the RAV line will no doubt bring
prosperity to our city, but we need to address the problems our
counterparts in other municipalities also face.

The Surrey Central, downtown and Metrotown stations have all benefited from
the development of the Expo SkyTrain line. However, at the same time they
are faced with a large increase in criminal activities around these
stations, and in many instances involving drug dealers.

Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell, in order to counter drug-related policing
problems, decided to take up his "Four Pillar" strategy: harm reduction,
prevention, treatment and enforcement. While I cannot agree with his
extreme liberal stance on drug use supporting pot legalization and setting
up injection clinics, I still applaud him for taking the initiatives to
solve these problems that Vancouver has long faced.

While I understand it is not an immediate problem that we are facing in
Richmond right now, but one does not need to look far to see how the impact
of drug-related problems can damage the reputation of a city.

The drug policy is not likely going to be a topic of significance in this
civic election. However, I still hope that our mayor and city councillors
can become aware of this before we are actually hit with the problems.

One has to recognize the implication that RAV line project will mean to
Richmond, especially in its central business district. It is never too
early to consider the problems that we can face as near as five years from now.

Fan-Hsin Kung

Richmond