Pubdate: Sat, 11 Jun 2005
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Copyright: 2005 The Leader-Post Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361
Author: Tim Switzer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

ALCOHOL TOPS PUBLIC'S ABUSE LIST

While Saskatchewan residents are more concerned with growing crystal meth 
abuse in the province, police and RCMP say, for the time being, cocaine is 
the more common drug.

A new poll, commissioned by the Leader-Post, Saskatoon Star-Phoenix and 
Global TV and performed by Sigma Analytics, shows the public believes 
alcohol, followed by marijuana and crystal meth are the most abused 
substance in the province. Talwin/Ritalin, cocaine and solvent abuse, 
respectively, were considered less widespread. Regina respondents ranked 
the substances in the same order.

Regina Police Chief Cal Johnston said while alcohol abuse is certainly the 
biggest problem they face on a day-to-day basis, cocaine is probably next 
on that list and is, for now, a bigger problem than crystal meth.

"At the current time, (crystal meth) is not what I would characterize as 
the most serious drug of abuse in Saskatchewan or in our community," he 
said after addressing politicians at the crystal meth summit Friday in 
Regina. "However, that needs to be understood that the use of 
methamphetamine is spreading regionally and into pockets. So there are 
pockets in Saskatchewan where methamphetamine is a very serious problem. 
It's not so much so in Regina as perhaps in the North and some smaller 
communities."

Crystal meth has gained much attention in recent months because of its 
debilitating effect on addicts.

The drug is cheap to buy and is causing growing problems not just in urban 
populations but also in rural and reserve settings.

Brian Checkley, an addictions counsellor at the Metis Addictions Council of 
Saskatchewan Inc., said he hasn't dealt with a lot of crystal meth addicts 
in Regina and sees more cocaine and Talwin/Ritalin addicts than anything 
else. That, however, doesn't mean the problem isn't growing.

"Crystal meth is probably, across the province, being abused more than the 
Ts and Rs. North of us seems to be where the crystal meth issue is -- it 
really seems to be more of a stronghold.

"People have a pretty good idea. Alcohol is still I think up there as 
number 1. There's a lot of focus on the crystal meth but there also still a 
lot of cocaine and crack that are available."

Chief Supt. Raf Souccar, the director general of drug enforcement and 
organized crime for the RCMP, said while crystal meth isn't the drug of 
choice now, that doesn't mean use isn't high and that it won't be on top again.

"The problem certainly goes in cycles when it come to methamphetamines. It 
was high during the late 70s, early 80s," he said. "Then the cycle went 
down and it's back up again."

The study also found that while cocaine ranked behind crystal meth and 
Talwin/Ritalin in perceived use, 22.7 per cent of respondents actually knew 
someone who had abused cocaine compared with 19.6 per cent for meth and 
14.2 per cent for Talwin/Ritalin. Nearly 87 per cent said they knew someone 
who had abused alcohol while 43.5 per cent knew a person who abused marijuana.

Residents of northern areas of the province, particularly Prince Albert, 
also perceived more drug use than those in the south. Areas along the 
Yellowhead Highway were also perceived to have higher rates of substance abuse.

RCMP said in terms of crystal meth, Saskatoon and the Melfort/Naicam area 
have been identified as spots of high use.

And while the poll showed crystal meth slightly lower on the list of 
widespread abuse, people in Saskatchewan do believe it has the worst affect 
on addicts. Respondents said alcohol had the next worst effect followed by 
cocaine, solvents, Talwin/Ritalin and marijuana.

"Methamphetamine is an incredibly dangerous substance and it has a terrible 
effect on users," said Johnston.

"And that effect due to behaviour of users as well as the chemical itself 
spills across into families and communities and emergency service 
providers. The use of it would appear to be growing."

Sigma Analytics is a Saskatchewan firm providing data mining and modelling, 
attitudinal polling and market research.

The poll consists of 800 telephone interviews conducted with Saskatchewan 
residents aged 18 years or older in late May.

The results from a sample of this size are considered to be accurate within 
plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom