SMALL TOWN PULLS TOGETHER TO TURN TIDE AGAINST METH

Burglaries, Car Thefts Were Skyrocketing

This town's motto is "Pulling Together," and it took nothing less to
turn the tide against crystal meth.

Crystal meth hit Drayton Valley hard in the late 1990s, but a
concerted effort by police, town officials, parents and educators has
reduced the drug's presence in the community and cut down on resulting crimes.

"Drayton Valley came out and said, 'We have a drug problem,' " Mayor
Diana McQueen says.

"Had we not been as proactive and got on this right away, it would
have become a far bigger problem."

As it was, burglaries, car prowlings and vehicle thefts were
skyrocketing in the town of 6,000 and police were run off their feet.

"(An addict) would steal a vehicle here, drive it into Edmonton for
drugs, dump it and then steal another car there and come back,"
recalls RCMP Const. Daryl Scott.

The town beefed up policing by hiring two plainclothes RCMP members
dedicated to investigating the local drug trade.

"Some of our bigger players have moved to other areas as a result," Scott says.

A Health Canada study of the region west of Edmonton analysed the
composition of "hard" drugs (not including marijuana) seized by
police between 1999 and 2003.

At the beginning of the study, methamphetamine seizures in Drayton
Valley and surrounding area hovered between 36 and 50 per cent of all
drugs seized. In 2002, meth seizures topped 50 per cent.

The next year, however, they were on their way down and sat below 35
per cent. At the same time, parts of the region around Edson and
Hinton remained above 50 per cent.

The town also hired a full-time community mobilizer in 2000 to help
implement plans to combat drugs and other problems identified by
residents. Initiatives were paid for with funding from several
sources: government grants, the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Commission and donations from local employers such as Weyerhaeuser.

Parents with addicted children banded together after hearing a
presentation from a drug expert they brought in from Saskatchewan.

They bought the local rights to his workshop and founded the Parent
to Parent Drug Awareness Society. They organized their first event,
expecting about a dozen people to attend.

Sixty people showed up.

"This small group realized there was a huge need in the community,"
recalls Norma Block, who was the community mobilizer.

Although police first noticed meth among young adults, it migrated
into the schools, meaning educators and police had to get their
message to students, too.

"We've probably had 20 or 30 (students) who have tried it, but we've
had some who have said 'I'll never try that stuff,'" says Rick
Watrich, assistant principal of 550-student Frank Maddock high school.

Young people also responded. Matthew French, 20, helped raise money
for a skateboard park and organized weekly youth activities --
efforts that earned him a 2004 crime prevention award from the
provincial Solicitor General department.

"It's such an awesome thing to see these kids make positive choices
and positive decisions in their lives," French says.