DRUG STATS NEED MORE SCRUTINY

'Thunder Bay drug-offence capital of Canada'. So reads a headline in
Canada's National Newspaper this week. We certainly don't need this
kind of publicity. We are already noteworthy for having one of the
highest rates of violent crime. Maybe this will serve as a wakeup call.

If you believe the hard numbers, on a per capita basis more people
here in the hinterland use drugs than any other city in the country.
Why, we're even doing drugs at a higher rate than the west coast
cities of Vancouver and Victoria. According to Statistics Canada, in
2002 the Lakehead had a drug-crime rate of of 571 per 100,000
population. That is a full 20% higher than Vancouver.

Many Thunder Bay-ites will be very surprised by this. After all,
Vancouver's reputation for drug use is well known. It is difficult to
believe that we are even worse.

In fact, the problem may not be any more serious here than anywhere
else in Canada.

One of the key questions that needs to be asked is whether Thunder Bay
Police are putting more emphasis on laying charges for drug possession
than other police services do. Police Chief Bob Herman says 'You need
to know what is going on in each city.' Certainly, the local force
puts a major emphasis on drug crimes, and works closely with the OPP
and RCMP in the Tri-Force Drug Unit. The members of the Unit know
their job and are exceptionally good at it.

Geography and transportation routes also make the situation in Thunder
Bay potentially unique. Given that anyone travelling on the ground
across this country has to pass through Thunder Bay, it would be
interesting to find out how many non-residents are being charged for
drug offences. The OPP, for example, are regularly laying charges for
drug possession as the result of vehicle checks on highways near
Thunder Bay.

But even if the Stats Can report and the national media coverage are
unfairly portraying Thunder Bay as the country's Drug Capital, we have
a very serious problem here.

Thunder Bay is one of the main corridors for drug trafficking in
Canada. Very significant drug seizures are made on a regular basis,
amounting to millions and millions of dollars a year. In 2002 alone,
the Tri-Force Unit seized drugs with a street value of $13,500,000.
And police will tell you despite their best efforts, they are only
scratching the surface. Substance abuse is growing. Organized crime
and a biker gang are heavily involved. It is a big business, and most
disturbing of all is that young people--ages 15 to 24--are the biggest
customers.

There are two ways to move down the Stats Can list. Police can be
diverted to other enforcement issues--as the advocates of marijuana
have proposed--or we can divert more resources to education and
treatment. Chief Herman says it's a societal issue, not a police
issue. He's right that young abusers need more help to get out of the
cycle. That's an expensive proposition, but the price we pay for
letting the situation continue to deteriorate will be much higher.

Some Tri-Force Drug Unit Seizures / 2003:

Cocaine --19,400 grams. Street value $1,941,000 Hash Oil -- 206,000
grams. Street value $4,100,000 Marijuana -- 398,000 grams. Street
value $6,800,000