Alderman propose program in fight against ecstasy
Posted Feb 4, 2012 3:16 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Despite persistent media coverage and pleas from the Calgary Police Service, ecstasy related deaths and crime in our City continue to climb.
The latest drug charges have been laid against a 21 year-old man from Bragg Creek, who was trafficking ecstasy and had almost $2,000 worth of the pill in his possession.
Investigators are testing the ecstasy confiscated to see if it contains PMMA, a toxin which has been linked to ecstasy related deaths in Calgary.
With a total of seven deaths linked to the drug since July, a few city Alderman are taking matters in to their own hands.
Aldermen John Mar, Shane Keating and Dale Hodges are asking Council to approve a public education plan against ecstasy with a focus on creating a long term drug prevention program.
Mar told the Calgary Sun, he wants officials to go to bars and utilize social media websites like Facebook and Twitter to reach impressionable young people and drug users.
CPS, Animal and Bylaw Services, as well as Alberta Health Services are included in their program proposal, which the Aldermen hope to have approved next week.
If put into action, the Alderman hope to release initial findings in June.
According to the Calgary Sun, the Aldermen have suggested the city withdraw $150,000 from the Fiscal Stability Reserve to fund the program.
