Pubdate: Fri, 29 Apr 2005
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 The Province
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Alan Ferguson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

THE MENACE OF CRYSTAL METH AND POLITICIANS ADDICTED TO THEIR SCRIPT

Don't you just love it when the best-laid plans of politicians fall apart 
under the pressure of electioneering?

In Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair was sailing serenely on message to a 
third successive victory as leader of the Labour Party when a leaked 
document revealed he was warned by one of his own ministers that the 
invasion of Iraq was quite possibly illegal.

As we all know, Blair and U.S. President George W. Bush marched off to war 
with perhaps the best of intentions -- but, as the public in both countries 
now knows, under utterly false pretences.

Whether this bombshell is enough to topple the resilient Blair remains to 
be seen on May 5.

However, it is encouraging that, in this era of extreme political 
manipulation, the banana skins are still lying there for the unwary.

Here at home, as my colleague Michael Smyth has reminded us, Premier Gordon 
Campbell is a past master at diverting uncomfortable questions, stripping 
them of any negative context and cleverly turning them in his favour.

Just as former U.S. President Bill Clinton first won the White House with 
the mantra, "it's the economy, stupid," successful politicians have long 
learnt to stick adamantly to their focus-group-tested message.

It's perhaps no surprise then that, when Province reporter Matthew Ramsey 
was researching his recent series on crystal methamphetamine, he got no 
response from Premier Campbell's office to repeated requests for input.

Ramsey wanted to know what plans Campbell's government might have to deal 
with the awful menace of a drug that is wrecking the lives of so many young 
people in this province.

I was sitting in the audience Tuesday night in Kamloops at a 
Province-organized forum on crystal meth when two tearful mothers came to 
the microphone to share their stories of what the drug had done to their 
families.

There were tears in the eyes of many in the audience, including mine, as 
the moms sobbed out their frustrations at finding nowhere to turn for help 
as they watched their young daughters' brains scrambled by this poisonous 
concoction.

And the truth is that, according to all the experts, there is a shameful 
lack of treatment facilities for crystal meth addicts in B.C.

Not all of these addicts want or seek help, granted. But those who do 
should not be asked to wait. Treatment must be there on demand.

This drug is killing people, for God's sake.

And yet, with this evil menace lurking in the background, glad-handing 
politicians solicit our votes with a monotonous recitation of PR-honed 
homilies to our booming economy, our bright futures, our unbounded prosperity.

The tragedy is that you're unlikely to hear the words "crystal meth" 
uttered anywhere on the campaign trail.

It's not in the script.

Maybe the script needs rewriting.
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MAP posted-by: Beth