Pubdate: Wed, 01 Jun 2005
Source: Goldstream Gazette (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 Goldstream Gazette
Contact:  http://www.goldstreamgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1291
Author: Rick Stiebel
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH ACTION NEEDS FAST-TRACKING

It will be interesting to see if the menace of crystal meth, which
garnered a few seconds in the spotlight during the election campaign,
gets shoved to the back burner now that the votes have been tallied.

Premier Gordon Campbell indicated during the campaign that he's
prepared to step up the penalties for producing and trafficking, and
would seek assistance from Ottawa and other provinces toward that end.

The fact that meth was front and centre at a meeting of western
premiers earlier this year indicates awareness is on the rise, but we
have to question whether stiffer sentences - the same as for cocaine
and heroin as Campbell has suggested - is going to make a difference.

Prohibition of alcohol in the U.S. during the 1920s did little to
stifle the spread, proving that people involved in the manufacture and
distribution of money-making illicits won't curtail their activities
due to the threat of more jail time.

Young people are particularly vulnerable to the lure of meth, because
a $10 hit pays for a ride that can last 12 hours or longer, infinitely
more brain bang for the buck.

Even scarier is the resulting carnage - physiological, emotional and
psychological - that comes at a much faster rate than anything that's
come before.

Unlike heroin and cocaine, which are produced elsewhere before
importation for distribution, the use of meth is spreading at
breakneck speed thanks to the proliferation of labs that can cook up
batches of the drug in as little space as the trunk of a car.

The making of meth involves a mix of chemicals, toxic substances and
unsophisticated equipment that fit easily into a couple of storage
bins, readily available to anyone with a formula, which is readily
available on the Internet.

The 'chemists' cooking up this concoction aren't exactly concerned
with the environment or the danger they pose to the people around them
- - studies in Washington State reveal that children are often living on
the premises when police take down a lab, and it's not uncommon for
the toxic waste from a lab to wind up dumped down the sink, the sewer
or a nearby stream.

West Shore RCMP have made it clear they are seeing an increase in the
amount of meth on the streets each year since it first surfaced in our
neck of the woods three years ago.

Several police sources indicate it's only a matter of time before labs
like those popping up all over the Lower Mainland start to appear on
the Island, drawn by the lure of rural locations attracting less
suspicion and attention.

We need to follow the lead of our nearby U.S. neighbours by
controlling the sale of ephedrine and pseudephedrine, two of the key
elements in the manufacture of crystal, which are readily available in
an assortment of cough and cold medicines at the corner pharmacy.

Another step would be to increase the amount of resources, beds,
treatment and counselling available to young people taken in by the
drug. Wait-lists of six weeks or more just don't cut it when we're
talking about the future of one child, let alone an entire generation
at risk.

Campbell said recently in the Vancouver media that the government is
working on building up the services, but "you can't create the space
overnight."

Sol.-Gen. Rich Coleman indicated he's "looking into" legislation to
limit the purchase of cough and cold medicines containing the crucial
ingredients for meth, and there are thoughts about registering the
agricultural products that are also needed to make the drug.

Let's hope, for the sake of our kids, that they find more time to
fast-track action now that the election is out of the way.

Too many innocent lives are at stake to let this plague fester and
simmer on the back burner for another four years.
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MAP posted-by: Derek