RCMP Staff Sgt Kim Hillier tells council, “We’re not seeing an increase in meth usage in Bonnyville”

The RCMP in the Town of Bonnyville has a reputation for cracking down on drugs and its dealers.

During the regular council meeting on May 11, the current acting Detachment Commander here in Bonnyville, Sgt. Kim Hillier told elected officials in her annual report that the RCMP is not seeing an increase in methamphetamine usage.

“The regular users that we’ve always had have just gotten to the point where now they’re dealing with serious mental health issues,” Sgt. Hillier said. “Now, it’s moved into a psychosis.”

According to the Canadian Psychiatric Association, the symptoms of meth-induced psychosis resemble those of paranoid schizophrenia.

Psychosis is often described as a “loss of reality” or a “break from reality” because it makes you experience or believe things that aren’t real. It can change the way you think, act, feel or sense things.

“Some of the people that we’re dealing with, say, this year, I would have dealt with three or four years ago, and they would have been relatively normal for someone who’s high on methamphetamine,” Sgt. Hillier added.

Hillier says she is very confident that the drug situation in Bonnyville is really good compared to when she first started here.

“With our GIS unit, we have basically put a lid on it,” Sgt. Hillier said. “The unit itself has given about 30 years in jail time that has been doled out to drug traffickers, based on drug projects done. I’m very confident at how well the unit is keeping the drug dealers at bay.”

Elected Officials with the Town of Bonnyville commended the RCMP for all their hard work in the Lakeland Region.

“I want to commend you and the GIS unit for all the work that you guys have done on the drugs,” Mayor Gene Sobolewski told Sgt. Hillier in the meeting. “Hearing that the town of Bonnyville has a reputation for cracking down on drugs really brings joy to my heart because that’s exactly the goal we are seeking, good on yourselves for doing that because it’s a job well done.”

The Addiction and Mental Health Help Line in Alberta is a 24 hour, seven-day-a-week confidential service that provides support, information, and referrals to Albertans experiencing addiction and mental health concerns.

For help call 1-866-332-2322.

Arthur@lakelandconnect.thedev.ca