Drug Addiction in Prince Edward Island

The beautiful Canadian province and island of Prince Edward Island is not really known for having any major drug addiction problems. With only one hundred and forty thousand residents in the whole province and a majority of them residing on the islands only city, it’s just not big enough to have any major activity. Or is it?

Although Prince Edward Island is largely cut off from the rest of Canada, and up until recently accessible only by ferry there is still a significant problem with drug or alcohol addiction. Less than ten percent of people there report struggling with drug addiction, which doesn’t seem so bad, however major drug lords have been found hanging out on this beautiful island as a hide out from the police.

Organized crime makes a majority of their income from the illegal drug trade. Right there in small Prince Edward Island the right hand man of the Hells Angle’s motorcycle gang, was found and arrested. Half a kilo of cocaine was taken from the man that was supposedly only the “tech guy.” Also taken was an Uzi, and other weapons, and cocaine linked paraphernalia.

However, even with all that, the youth of Prince Edward Island don’t seem to be fitting in with their rest of their peers across Canada. This is a good thing. Prince Edward Island has the lowest number of youth reporting any kind of illegal drug use or drug addiction than anywhere in Canada. Perhaps this can be linked to the fourteen DARE officers that visit schools frequently starting in grade five. They educate the kids on the dangers of starting drugs, and with so few kids even trying something once, the peer pressure that exists in most other cities and provinces just does not exist.

Of course Prince Edward Island can still work on reducing the numbers, having ten percent of your population addicted to anything when it is so small is a concern. But compared to the rest of Canada, they are doing a great job.

^{References: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/pe/news-nouvelles/2010/2010-04-14-eng.htm
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2010/04/16/13607526-qmi.html
http://www.sobriety.ca/drug-rehab-pei.htm}