Pubdate: Tue, 13 Jul 2004
Source: Melfort Journal, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2004, The Melfort Journal
Contact:  http://www.melfortjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1625

EDITORIAL -- ARM YOURSELF WITH KNOWLEDGE AGAINST METH

It's time to take our heads out of the sand and face a problem that most 
other communities have already become aware of - crystal meth.

Melfort Journal -- It's time to take our heads out of the sand and face a 
problem that most other communities have already become aware of - crystal 
meth.

While the drug is nowhere near as prevalent in Melfort as other major 
cities, the drug does exist in town as arrests by the local RCMP have proven.

As Mayor Darrell Collins pointed out, this issue needs to be tackled from a 
variety of angles, the most important of which is public education.

It's doubtful that most parents are truly aware of the dangers the drug can 
pose, the highly addictive qualities it possesses, or the ease in which the 
drug can be manufactured.

Even less likely, is if parents are aware of what they can do if they 
suspect their child is meddling with this dangerous drug. Who can they turn 
to? What form of help or support is available? We don't know, so it's 
certain that parents do not either.

One troubling fact surrounding crystal meth is Saskatchewan's lack of 
resources directed towards enforcement, education and counselling.

Other provinces, such as Alberta and B.C. are pumping more and more funding 
into the problem and are passing legislation marked at making the 
ingredients difficult to acquire.

When speaking with the Saskatchewan College of Pharmacists recently, it was 
shocking to hear the lack of information that their head honcho had on the 
subject.

If the Registrar of the college does not know all the information about 
products sold in pharmacies around the province, it would only make sense 
that pharmacists' themselves have not been warned by their governing body 
of the potential danger of their products.

The Government of Saskatchewan has done even less to battle the meth 
endemic and admitted recently that they have only put some information on 
the drug on the Ministry of Learning Web site. Is this supposed to prevent 
our children from meddling with the drug? It's highly doubtful that too 
many teens visit www.sasked.gov.sk.ca on a regular basis.

Only when this issue is dealt with head on - the first step is admitting 
the problem - will this problem reach each and every parent and child who 
may be affected by it.

In researching the stories in this week's Journal, it was devastating to 
hear of the consequences of the most minor dabbling with the drug. Almost 
95 per cent of those who try the drug come back for more. And don't fool 
yourself by thinking that only teens and young adults try this menace to 
society - young and old, rich and poor, sane and insane are just as 
susceptible to the addictive qualities of meth.

As was said earlier - the first step is education. It is one of the only 
tools that we can arm ourselves with and it keeps us informed to ask the 
tough questions.

Enough of this ostrich syndrome that can exist in small communities - we 
must take the battle to the drug, the drug peddlers and the manufacturers. 
Without that fortitude, we will lose this battle - and many lives will be 
lost in the process.

What if it was someone close to you? Can you live with that guilt knowing 
that you never did anything to prevent it?
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D