Drug abuse common in Ketchikan? (Metlakatla: crime, credit, month to)

[gobrien]

Originally Posted by Katharhswong

Yes it is sad. I just don't get it. Some are poor, and yet they still waste their money on cigarettes, alcohol, weed and drugs. Money that can be spent on better things are instead, spent on products that do more harm than good.

I met thing woman who told me she had no money, but yet she bought cigarettes, an iPhone [it was free but her bill is $80 a month] and whole bunch of clothes and shoes [clothes and shoes that can't withstand the weather here]. I had dinner with her and she asked if she could stay with me in the rented apartment and I said NO. She told me she has two brothers who stays in Ketchikan. Why can't she live with them? I'm the one who's alone here, not her!

Don't get me wrong. I'm not a stingy person who won't help people. I only help those who truly needs it.

Not someone who can't control their spendings! If they have no money then go sell off their stuffs! I've lived my whole life on the bare minimum, often having to forgo luxury items just to survive. And I can't stand people who splurge unnecessarily on themselves and expect people to help them when their money runs out.

Sounds like she wanted to use you-you were smart to say no. I've never lived in Ketchikan but drugs are pretty bad in other towns-heroin to meth. Pot is really common but it really makes me angry when people expose children to it. Kids need to learn there is more to life than getting high.

[warptman]

Originally Posted by SityData

Rule #1 for me. Under no conditions ever; will I ever set foot into any bar room. That "smell" makes me gag.

When I traveled to the Phillippines; I was shocked to see billboards up advertising the fact that possession of Pot is DEATH PENALITY!

I just can't believe that.. WoWoW!!! ???????????????? WoWoW!!

What does this have to do with the OP's question?

[Dakster]

To the OP - I don't condone abuse of any drugs. In my experience ignoring the dealing doesn't make it go away. It will tend to get worse and could lead to violence. Especially, if the dealers get greedy and start expanding their operations. This could lead up to one of two scenarios where either a disgruntled previous customer comes back for revenge or a rival dealer decides to intervene. Sometimes innocents are caught in the cross fire. Hopefully, Alaska is less violent than other places, but I doubt it since Alaska has more armed people per capita than most other places.

Now, your level of involvement (or non-involvement) is up to you and there are good and bad potential outcomes either way. I think that you know the answer to your question and you just want some confirmation.

Not that I agree with their policy. But I bet the Philippines has a zero recidivism rate for anyone caught with more than 500 grams of marijuana.

[Metlakatla]

If you're suggesting that she turn someone in for thinking they might be dealing weed in Ketchikan, the cops most likely won't be interested unless you've got some pretty solid proof of large quantities being involved.

I turned someone in for dealing meth and this is how the cops handled it. They went and knocked on the guy's door and told him that his neighbor was claiming he was a meth dealer. He said he wasn't.


And I didn't spend another safe day in that house until he actually did get busted and put in prison. They even found meth hidden in their baby's diaper bag. I moved before he got out, and told very few people where.

Unless you're noticing a lot of traffic, the guy next to you might just be a casual dealer. If you see signs of meth...move.

This may sound funny coming from me because I'm not known for being afraid of much, but people have disappeared in SE Alaska and have found at the bottom of the bay years later in a crab pot. You're young, new in town, female, so put your own safety first. If you feel that you must go to law enforcement, try to find some way to talk to someone you can trust. Maybe someone who's worked law enforcement could help you out there; Stiff used to work with the Ketchikan PD I think.

I know that they say that they keep these things anonymous; in my case, they didn't. Sure, they didn't give the guy my name; he didn't know it anyway. But they gave him enough hints so that he knew who I was.

[Katharhswong]

Originally Posted by Dakster

Now, your level of involvement (or non-involvement) is up to you and there are good and bad potential outcomes either way. I think that you know the answer to your question and you just want some confirmation.

THe good thing about my apartment is that it's a month to month lease. I'll just feel the situation and decide if I want to move out next month.

I talked to my next door neighbour last night [the white dude with weed] outside his unit and I glanced inside. No big weed operation so far. And ironically, he gave me 3 advice:
1) Never enter bars/pubs.
2) When someone comes up to me and his/her breath smells like alcohol, or that person looks really drugged up, RUN AWAY.
3) If he himself comes up to me and reeks of alcohol, head back to my unit, lock the door and never open it.

[ShipOfFools42]

Wow. Ketchikan sounds dangerous as hell, and your neighbor... sounds like he might be known to get hammered and hurt people. Good lord.

Is this the norm in small Alaskan towns, to not be able to go into bars, be afraid of random strangers, etc.? Is this some SE thing, or some Ketchikan thing? What's the deal? Maybe these are really dumb questions, but this is the first time on this board that I've heard anything like this.

[Katharhswong]

Originally Posted by ShipOfFools42

Wow. Ketchikan sounds dangerous as hell, and your neighbor... sounds like he might be known to get hammered and hurt people. Good lord.

Is this the norm in small Alaskan towns, to not be able to go into bars, be afraid of random strangers, etc.? Is this some SE thing, or some Ketchikan thing? What's the deal? Maybe these are really dumb questions, but this is the first time on this board that I've heard anything like this.

It's not dangerous. So far I haven't encountered bad drunks. I did encounter a lady who was really drugged up though. But she didn't cause any trouble. She just shaved her head and talked to herself.

The people here in Ketchikan are really friendly anyway. However, almost every single person I talked to told me to stay away from drinking places. Since they've lived here much longer than I did, I'll take their advice.

As for my wigger neighbour... I did ask him if he hurt people when he was drunk and he said he can't remember. But he was afraid I'd get hurt so he warned me in advance. In his eyes I'm weak and fragile but that's totally not true... I can do hand to hand combat with a person 2 times my weight.

[Katharhswong]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

If you're suggesting that she turn someone in for thinking they might be dealing weed in Ketchikan, the cops most likely won't be interested unless you've got some pretty solid proof of large quantities being involved.

I turned someone in for dealing meth and this is how the cops handled it. They went and knocked on the guy's door and told him that his neighbor was claiming he was a meth dealer. He said he wasn't.


And I didn't spend another safe day in that house until he actually did get busted and put in prison. They even found meth hidden in their baby's diaper bag. I moved before he got out, and told very few people where.

Unless you're noticing a lot of traffic, the guy next to you might just be a casual dealer. If you see signs of meth...move.

This may sound funny coming from me because I'm not known for being afraid of much, but people have disappeared in SE Alaska and have found at the bottom of the bay years later in a crab pot. You're young, new in town, female, so put your own safety first. If you feel that you must go to law enforcement, try to find some way to talk to someone you can trust. Maybe someone who's worked law enforcement could help you out there; Stiff used to work with the Ketchikan PD I think.

I know that they say that they keep these things anonymous; in my case, they didn't. Sure, they didn't give the guy my name; he didn't know it anyway. But they gave him enough hints so that he knew who I was.

Wow. That's our tax payers dollars going down the drain.

Damn... Bodies in crab pots. THis is the first time I've heard of it.

THanks for your advice Metla. I'll be careful.

[Rance]

There is always once moron in a bar that has too much to drink, and would try hitting on a young lady like he's some stud. Bad thing is when he gets shot down you never know what kind of violent rage they can go into. Or end up following you home. Some of them can take a friendly conversation and turn it into they think your flirting with them and they think they are going to score.
I wouldn't advise going to a bar unless you were with friends. And by that, friends you've gotten to know well before you go hanging out in a bar till all hours of the night.
There are guys that are just plain numb in the head especially when they are on drugs.

Don't lock yourself up in your apartment, but please show some good judgment on who you pick for friends and where you socalize. And by all means do not let any moochers in your apartment. You may come home and find all your belongings gone.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by ShipOfFools42

Wow. Ketchikan sounds dangerous as hell, and your neighbor... sounds like he might be known to get hammered and hurt people. Good lord.

Is this the norm in small Alaskan towns, to not be able to go into bars, be afraid of random strangers, etc.? Is this some SE thing, or some Ketchikan thing? What's the deal? Maybe these are really dumb questions, but this is the first time on this board that I've heard anything like this.

Depends. Ketchikan can have some shady characters; it's the first stop for people going north on the Marine Highway. Some of them...that's as far as they can afford to go. There are a lot of transients, seasonal workers, and sometimes when people are away from home they behave in some not very nice ways.

Other towns like Talkeetna.....phttt, I wouldn't warn anyone away from going into a bar there.

But like most of Alaska, most crime can be prevented by avoiding certain types of people and situations; but I worry about the OP because of where she's living. I don't mean to scare you, just take care. Hopefully your neighbor was just joking in some inept way with you.

I haven't been in many bars in SE lately at all...the last one I went to in Ketchikan was the bar at the Narrows, with another member here, and that's a perfectly safe and respectable place to go. When I was younger we all used to go the Arctic, which is a fisherman's bar, but I was always with a few other people. As far as the bars on POW, I'm not exactly afraid to go into them, I've just got no interest in doing so.

And there's a certain vulnerability to someone being new in town. Even when I was the OP's age and got out a bit more, I had the protection of simply just knowing people and coming from a family that's it's best not to mess with. And it's funny now...I'm older now and I'm one of the reasons my nieces can come and go fairly safely.

But Alaska's biggest mass murder happened on POW; my grandmother and I were among the first to see the seiner on fire out behind an island. The guy got away with it too; he ran and was caught a few years later but never convicted. Google "the Investor, Prince of Wales Island, John Peel" sometime---it's interesting reading.

Yeah, Ship, there's an undercurrent to Ketchikan; the crime rate isn't all that bad I guess but so much of it goes unreported.