Pubdate: Mon, 22 Mar 2004
Source: Record, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2004 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc.
Contact:  http://www.royalcityrecord.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1654
Author: Alfie Lau
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

CHRYSTAL METH COMES TO TOWN

Police Seeing More Evidence of the Dangerous Chemical

Crystal meth is the drug du jour and has New Westminster police board 
members worried.

Methamphetamines, which can be produced in a home-based or even mobile lab, 
can be bought for as little as $10 for a 'point,' a tenth of a gram serving.

Insp. Frank Ciaccia, head of the police criminal investigation division, 
told the March meeting of the police board that he is seeing crystal meth 
rearing its ugly head in the Royal City.

"The drug dealers are finding that it's so cheap," Ciaccia explained, "that 
they are offering free samples to kids to get them hooked."

He said he's heard of children as young as nine or 10 addicted and that 
much of the property crime sweeping the region can be attributed to people 
desperate to feed their drug addiction.

Ciaccia said officers are noticing that hardened marijuana and crack 
cocaine users are increasingly making the switch to crystal meth, a sure 
sign that the drug has arrived.

However, Ciaccia's report to the police board noted that the city is not 
yet home to clandestine labs where the drug is "cooked." However, dealers 
based in New Westminster have been found "washing" the drug, another term 
for cutting or stepping on the drug so that more portions can be made.

Police board member Karen Baker-MacGrotty pointed out the insidious nature 
of the drug and how it can be laced into marijuana to get unsuspecting pot 
smokers hooked.

Insp. Dave Jones pointed out another disastrous effect of the drug is the 
toxic houses where the illicit drug labs are set up. While none have been 
discovered in New Westminster during this recent surge, a home converted 
into a drug lab contains so many toxic chemicals that police raiding the 
house have to use hazardous materials suits. And, since New Westminster 
itself does not have its own HAZMAT unit, police have to rely on the RCMP 
or the Vancouver city police unit for assistance.

Ciaccia also pointed out a problem unique to Canadian authorities. The 
chemicals and materials used to make crystal meth are illegal to possess in 
the United States, but not so here.

"We need to be prepared for when we see people (loading up) on these 
ingredients," Ciaccia said. "Our people are trained for recognition of a 
meth lab." On a related vein, Ciaccia commended school liaison officer 
Const. Camille Shim-Ping for her work educating students about the perils 
of drugs.

With school-age children the most vulnerable to experimenting with these 
highly addictive drugs, Shim-Ping's job is all the more important.

While other districts, notably Langley and West Vancouver, can afford the 
DARE (Drug Awareness Resistance Education) program, New Westminster doesn't 
have the necessary $100,000, as estimated by Staff Sgt. Casey Dehaas. It's 
aimed at children nine years and older.

However, the city has been able to adopt several tenets of the DARE program 
for use in Royal City schools and, under Shim-Ping's leadership, the kids 
are, in Ciaccia's words, "getting some elements of the DARE program, which 
is better than none."

Police board member Dwight Ross, citing rampant property crime that just 
recently included a break-and-enter in his office building, wondered if the 
cost wouldn't be money well spent because it could help prevent people 
getting hooked on the drug and then resorting to crime to feed their habit.

Perhaps the most ominous warning came from Ciaccia, who noted that when 
grow-ops started appearing in neighbouring jurisdictions, New Westminster 
was home to few of them. However, with time, grow-ops appeared in the city, 
a trend that might also happen with crystal meth. He hopes that by 
recognizing the trend now, the city can take the necessary steps to 
identify and prevent the infiltration of the labs.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager