BRITISH COLUMBIA HAS A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH DRUGS

It is something most people would like to turn a blind eye to and
simply pretend it isn't an issue in their lives.

Unfortunately this is becoming harder to do every day. No matter who
you are it is likely that drugs have had some effect on your life.
That is because we live in a drug dependent society.

Most of you are probably thinking that is not true. Shaking your heads
thinking nothing could be farther from reality. Sure there is a drug
problem in many communities, but not a drug dependent society. Well
think again.

Are you enjoying your morning cup of coffee? Are you sucking away on
your mid-afternoon cigarette? Or maybe you are about to shuffle off to
bed once your mild sleeping pill kicks in? Or you're enjoying a beer
with the game or a glass of wine with your dinner. Well guess what,
those are all drugs.

Sure they may not compare to the problems caused by serious narcotics
on our streets, but they are drugs and their acceptance may be just
one step leading up to a more tolerant, accepting attitude towards
harder drugs.

Most of us probably think smoking isn't the problem it once was. Well
in 2003 approximately 30 per cent of Canadians over the age of 15 were
smokers. According to the Canadian Cancer Society this number has some
very serious negative results. Smoking is responsible for 47,500
deaths a year in Canada, 30 per cent of all cancers and more than 85
per cent of all lung cancers.

Thanks to aggressive campaigns against smoking the message is getting
through. Fewer people are smoking. That's great news, but it also
should be a lesson that education works and that lesson should be
passed on to other drugs.

Smoking cigarettes is fast being replaced in popularity by smoking
marijuana. In 2002, an extensive study was done on the number of
Canadian who are smoking pot. It found that three million Canadians
have used marijuana for recreational uses -- that's approximately 12
per cent of the population over the age of 15. Considering you can be
charged criminally for possessing more than 15 grams it may surprise
some people to hear that is almost half the number of cigarette
smokers. About 10 per cent of Canadians use pot every day.

The debate on marijuana is one that could go on forever, but one thing
police warn is that unless you grow your own you never know what you
are really getting. That means with one joint you could be smoking any
number of drugs you hadn't counted on.

It is also a common belief that it leads to harder drugs, ones that
are more addictive and have much more serious side effects.

This week the RCMP held an informational meeting on crystal meth, a
drug gaining popularity because of its cheap buzz and the fact that it
is easy to make. The speaker made one point that really puts things
into perspective. He said to think of the drug of choice, whether it
be cocaine, ecstacy, crack, crystal meth, tobacco or any other, and
think of it as a can of tomato soup. Now if the list of ingredients on
your can of soup included such things as turpentine, battery acid,
cyanide or Drano would you still put it into your body? The obvious
answer is no, but it is not the answer most people make.

It is only through better communication and education that people are
going to be more aware of what these drugs are doing to our society
and our youth. We need to start treating them the same way we do
tobacco and alcohol. We must get the message out that choosing to do
drugs is a decision that could affect the rest of their lives. The key
to doing this is to target youth. Teach them when they are young so
that they will grow up to make wise, healthy choices.