The Haines Public Safety Commission, which last year established itself as a drug awareness task force, is on a data-gathering mission to better understand drug abuse in the borough.

Public Safety Commission chair Pat Hefley suggested the commission gather and solicit data from police, the court, mental health professionals, the SEARHC clinic, emergency medical services and others to understand what illegal drug use looks like in Haines. Based on that information, they can better address permanent solutions using available resources, Hefley said.

“Those are…targeted areas,” Hefley said. “Rather than [say] we have a drug problem, let’s fix it. You don’t have a bunch of people just wishing it and the strongest voices win. I think if we make a decision based on the baseline information, we will make better choices and target our efforts to where they can have the most power.”

Commissioner Chuck Mitman said that tactic would take time, and he wants to take steps now, such as giving talks at the school. Mitman also said when such information does come, he thinks the problem won’t be that alarming. “I also think that we’re going to find out that our problem isn’t what we first forecasted it to be, or what we were led to believe it is,” Mitman said.

Hefley, and commissioner Judy Erekson agreed.

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker issued a statewide “declaration of disaster emergency” in February 2017 as result of an increase in opioid overdose deaths in the state.

The public safety commission in June 2017 established itself as a drug task force after holding a community meeting where addicts, community members and police discussed drug abuse and addiction and enforcement issues. Haines Police Chief Heath Scott and emergency medical crew members warned commission members about the high number of opioid overdoses in the community. In 2016, ambulance crews provided Narcan, a medication used to block the effects of opioid overdoses, eight times, according to then fire chief Brian Clay.

Mitman told the CVN that between July 2017 and July 2018 that number has gone down to four. In an effort to prevent overdoses, the Haines Volunteer Fire Department handed out about 15 Narcan kits to residents since March. There is no measure of how many of those kits have been used.

The commission in April recommended the assembly look into purchasing a drug-sniffing dog after Scott, two officers and community members lobbied commission members. Scott said a drug-sniffing dog is a “vital need” in the police department.

The assembly later voted 4-2 against having staff research whether or not a dog would be effective in reducing drug use and importation.

The Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit Canine Teams, including one based in Ketchikan’s Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD) unit, were involved in 89 felony arrests, 23 misdemeanor arrests, the seizure of 7,824 grams of heroin, 4,757 grams of cocaine, 17,766 grams of methamphetamine, 6,020 grams of marijuana and $330,918.00 cash from drug proceeds in 2017, according to an Alaska State Trooper annual drug report released Wednesday.

Across the state, methamphetamine seizures have increased while heroin seizures have decreased in 2017 compared to 2016, according to the report

Alcohol is still the most abused substance in Alaska. “Alaskans experience higher rates of alcohol attributable mortality compared to most other states, and twice as many deaths are alcohol attributable each year as methamphetamine and opioid deaths combined…The abuse of alcohol also continues to be a prominent factor in violence against persons, suicide, and accidental death,” the report says.

Haines data was not included in the report, but police chief Heath Scott said, similar to statewide trends, he has seen a local increase in methamphetamine.

In 2017, methamphetamine overdose deaths use surged four-fold, the report says.

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