DETOX CENTRE WOULD HELP IN WAR ON DRUGS

I am delighted and encouraged that positive initiatives to deal with Red
Deer's drug problem have been featured on the front page of the Advocate
("Winning the war on drugs in city?" Friday, Sept. 3).

Congratulations to the Red Deer RCMP for the new initiatives they have
taken and the success they have achieved in dealing with drug-related
crime. The dedicated men and women who do this work are deserving of our
respect, our appreciation and our support.

At the same time, effective enforcement is not the only means of attacking
our drug problems. I believe that as long as there are men, women and
children trapped in the grip of chemical dependency, we are not winning the
war on drugs.

This brings me to the second article ("Supporters stand by site") regarding
the first steps towards effective treatment of drug addictions: a
detoxification centre. With all due respect, I think the Advocate has done
a disservice to the war on drugs in Red Deer by portraying the Safe Harbour
Society's search for a detox site in confrontational terms.

Implying that the efforts of Lethbridge business owners to reject a
homeless shelter in their neighbourhood were somehow a "success" reflects a
particular bias towards the disadvantaged.

Insinuating, without data, that the presence of the methadone clinic on
Gaetz Avenue is part of the drug problem rather than part of the solution,
is not good journalism. And, commenting that project development manager
Jim Taylor lacked hard evidence for his examples while not making the same
comment about the retailers seems very unfair.

The reality is that if Red Deer is to mount a credible and effective
response to chemical dependency in our community, residential treatment
will be one part of that response. A detox centre is a first step in that
development. There are very few who deny that it is needed.

If the Scott Block is not the best place, fine. But it has to go somewhere.

A constructive role for the Advocate to play as a community newspaper is to
give balanced coverage of the efforts of people who are trying to make a
difference, and use opinion editorial pages to encourage dialogue.

If there are business owners who want to have a say in the placement of
such facilities let them get involved in the search. In fact, I would like
to suggest that Red Deer City Council appoint Councillor Watkinson-Zimmer
to represent them in a process to find the best site for the detox centre,
she has the civic government experience, the respect of the business
community, and a demonstrated awareness of and compassion for the
disadvantaged in our community.

If the citizens of Red Deer are going to seriously wage a war on drugs, we
have to work together. The RCMP and the Safe Harbour Society are already
effectively doing their jobs. It is time for the rest of us to do ours.

Paul DuVal, Red Deer