Pubdate: Wed, 26 Jan 2005
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2005 The StarPhoenix
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/saskatoon/starphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Chris Zwick
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

PROPOSED PROGRAM MEANT TO HELP RETAILERS SPOT METH-COOKS

Saskatchewan stores should adopt a program that helps retailers spot 
crystal methamphetamine manufacturers, say two Saskatchewan Party MLAs.

Opposition MLAs Brenda Bakken and June Draude met Tuesday with two groups 
representing retailers and health product manufacturers.

The Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores (CACDS) and NDMAC, a national 
association representing manufacturers, marketers and distributors of 
health products, have helped develop the Meth Watch Program.

The program's primary goal is to educate store managers and employees that 
ingredients in legal products such as cough and cold medicines can be 
converted into methamphetamines. Through education, the program would help 
retailers spot suspicious purchases, which they would in turn report to the 
police.

As police crack down on large scale meth distributors, the retail sector 
will be targeted for the needed ingredients, said NDMAC director Robert White.

"The RCMP has told us that up until now, most of the methamphetamine is 
being used from bulk amounts of chemicals. However, they feel that as the 
illegal supply is cut-off, the meth-cooks may start to look for these 
ingredients in other spots, and the most logical spot would be retail," he 
said.

The MLAs are concerned that meth is easily produced once the ingredients 
are obtained and with Saskatchewan's wide open spaces meth labs are hard to 
find.

"I'm scared of what could happen in Saskatchewan," said Draude after the 
meeting. "We have a lot of communities that aren't well populated and 
Saskatchewan is situated in a place where it could be a distribution point 
for the drug across east and Western Canada."

The initiative is similiar to one suggested to pharmacists last year. They 
were asked to voluntarily place medications with psuedoephedrine behind the 
counter if they suspected the products were being used for crystal meth 
production, said Ray Joubert, registrar of the Saskatchewan College of 
Pharmacists.

"Most pharmacists are monitoring sales very carefully," he said Tuesday in 
a telephone interview.

More information on the Meth Watch Program can be found at www.methwatch.com.
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MAP posted-by: Beth