Pubdate: Mon, 24 Oct 2005
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Copyright: 2005 Winnipeg Free Press
Contact:  http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
Author: Tim Cook, Canadian Press

FORMER METH ADDICT SUES DEALER

REGINA -- Sandy Bergen has never had a problem wearing her troubles 
on her sleeve.

Ever since a crystal meth overdose almost killed her 18 months ago, 
the 21-year-old recovering addict has told anyone who will listen 
about the perils of the addictive street drug.

She's spoken with school kids and other addicts -- she's even told 
her story to politicians at the provincial legislature.

It's with that same determination that Bergen has undertaken her next 
crusade against crystal meth.

She and her parents have filed a negligence lawsuit against the 
person she says sold her the drug, hoping it will make dealers think 
twice before they peddle a substance they know has the potential to 
ruin lives. "It's not so much for the monetary gains," Bergen says 
from her home in Biggar, Sask. -- a small community west of Saskatoon.

It's a suit that is believed to be the first of its kind in Canada. 
In the U.S., several states have passed laws that allow drug dealers 
to be held financially liable for their crimes, but no such law here.

Annalise Acorn, a law professor at the University of Alberta, says a 
case such as Bergen's is not necessarily frivolous.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman