DRUG ABUSE PARTNERSHIP RELEASES FIRST REPORT

North Sydney - Just 18, Spencer Strickland has lost three friends to
prescription drug abuse in the past three years.

"One was 17, one was 18 who just died recently, then there was
another older gentleman who died," said the Boularderie resident,
himself a recovering opiate addict on the methadone maintenance program.

"It's not just the OxyContin. Everybody says it's the OxyContin, it's
the Delotta, the morphine -- whatever they can get their hands on."

Strickland said his drug use started with smoking marijuana when he
was 13. He began using OxyContin at 15 with an older friend.

His mother, Debbie Strickland, remembers the exact date, Aug. 11,
2003, when her son overdosed. He spent two days on life support and
was released five days later.

"There was no intervention before he left -- there was nothing in
place," she said.

"I work in health care and I made an issue that I wasn't taking him
home until I knew there was something in place that was going to help him.

"They were content at that time to allow almost two weeks go by
without any kind of addictions counselling, appointments or anything.
It's been a really hard struggle for the two years."

The Stricklands were on hand to give their input at a public meeting
of the Community Partnership on Drug Abuse. The group released its
first annual report and strategic direction, Tuesday at the North
Sydney Firemen's Club.

In the report, the partnership outlines 11 recommendations on what
work is left to be done, as well as the progress which has been made.

John Malcom, chair of the partnership, said the most successful
accomplishments were in the establishment of the prescription
monitoring program, under provincial legislation, to give authority
to follow up if there are problems with opiate prescriptions.

As well, 85 patients are receiving treatment in the methadone
maintenance program, with another 100 on a waiting list -- Malcom
admits the demand was larger than first thought.

There are, however, things that still need to improve.

"The federal government has a responsibility to look at the
monitoring of drugs, nationally," he said. "Nova Scotia is the only
province in Atlantic Canada with a monitoring board and in a study
Health Canada did this year, there are many more narcotics being
prescribed in the other Atlantic provinces than there are in Nova Scotia.

"Clearly, they can come across the border and the causeway if things
are out of control elsewhere."

More work in education and how to prevent the spread of crystal meth,
a problem mounting in Western Canada, are other issues to be examined.

Edgar MacLeod, chief of Cape Breton Regional Police and a member of
the partnership, said the community needs to get more involved --
noting only about 40 people were in attendance, Tuesday night.

"I'm extremely disappointed that this hall isn't filled -- it should
be filled," he said. "What we fail to keep recognizing is that drug
and alcohol abuse, the tremendous problems it's causing in our community.

"It's at the root of perhaps 80-90 per cent of the crime in our community."