THREE PILLARS SHORT OF A PLAN

There's a new sheriff in town and he's drawn a line in the sand -- or
rather, a concrete barrier on 135A Street -- against drug dealers.

On the rebound after accusations of suppressing "bad" news in Surrey,
Mayor Doug McCallum is no longer shirking the limelight.

In fact, he's adopted an action hero persona while promoting his
take-back-Whalley plan, complete with trusty sidekicks on the "A-Team."

Wham! Blam! Kapow!

Problem is, social ills that have had a decade to take root can't be
eliminated with tough talk and photo ops.

As Leader editor Andrew Holota writes on this page, the solution to
drug addiction, and its related crime, must involve "counsellors,
detox workers and facilities, social services, and all the tools that
a compassionate and intelligent society can bring to bear upon an
extremely complex -- and human -- issue."

Let's review some of McCallum's compassionate and intelligent ideas so
far:

1). Denial, over many years, of the growing problems in North
Surrey.

Mayor's logic: Welcome expensive office space projects, and they (the
good people with money) will come, transforming Whalley into a vibrant
municipal hub called City Centre.

Reality: Many existing long-term businesses and residents have cleared out
due to drugs and crime. Development alone won't revamp Surrey's own
Downtown Eastside.

2). Raise methadone dispensaries' annual licensing fees by 5,000 per
cent in an attempt to shut them down.

Mayor's logic: Methadone users can fill their prescriptions at
pharmacies like everybody else. When they gather in concentrated
numbers, they attract drug dealers.

Reality: Methadone users are trying to kick heroin, and should be assisted
in this endeavour, not further marginalized.

3). Shut down the needle exchange.

Mayor's logic: Closing down this "crime magnet" will discourage
undesirables who have migrated from all over the region to the Whalley
core in search of its renowned clean needles.

Reality: Anyone who's dope sick (withdrawing from heroin and experiencing
anxiety, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes and involuntary muscle
spasms) is not going to hop a bus to Vancouver so they can shoot up safely.
The incidence of shared needles in Surrey will rise, and so will rates of
hepatitis C and HIV infection. Because women are often "second on the
needle" in the hierarchy of the street, sick babies are another
probability. Besides, crack -- which is smoked, not injected -- is the drug
of choice in Whalley.

4). Put drug traffickers in work camps.

Mayor's logic: Spouting get-tough-on-criminals rhetoric will score
points with the lock 'em up crowd, which fails to see crime as part of
a continuum that includes poverty, which often begins in childhood,
and illness (addiction).

Reality: Unfortunately, McCallum's right on that one.

The bottom line is, enforcement is just one aspect of a comprehensive
social plan that should also provide prevention, treatment, and yes,
harm reduction measures.

Without other resources in place, "cracking down" is merely an empty
exercise in bad PR.