Pot times July 17, 2005

Just Say Yes To Detox

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1128/a09.html
Newshawk: Herb

Pubdate: Wed, 13 Jul 2005
Source: Richmond News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005, Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc.
Contact: editor@richmond-news.com
Website: http://www.richmond-news.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1244

JUST SAY YES TO DETOX

This week's revelation from the B.C.  Federation of Police Officers that crazed drug addicts are now responsible for almost all police pursuits shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone - least of all to the family of youth pastor Joseph Chan.

Chan was killed earlier this year when a stolen car driven by Benjamin Bleinis ran a stop sign in Richmond and slammed into Chan's vehicle.  Bleinis, "a good kid" whose life was ruined by drug addiction, according to his father, was high when he made the fatal mistake that cost Chan his life.

Bleinis had been in and out of jail as a result of his drug habit, but detox is voluntary - not mandatory.  In fact, at the time of the accident, Bleinis's father, Roman Bleinis, was critical of the system for failing to force junkies into rehab.

"As you know, with detox you go in freely, you come out freely.  That should be changed," Roman Bleinis said.

The federation is meeting with Solicitor-General John Les this week in a bid to get jail time and forced drug treatment for repeat car thieves, and our hope is that it will be successful.

There are about 10 police pursuits a day in the Lower Mainland involving a stolen vehicle.  But while auto theft has actually dropped overall, the number of drug addicts behind the wheel of stolen vehicles has actually been increasing, according to the Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team.  That's because the tools in the fight against auto theft - primarily the bait car program - have only had an impact on non-addicts and organized criminals.  The junkies, who account for a whopping 93 per cent of thieves, are still stealing cars over and over again to support their habits.

Maybe we missed something, but it seems that dealing with the drug problem would go a long way toward dealing with the auto theft problem, which, ultimately, poses a serious risk to public safety.

No, it couldn't be that simple.  Could it?