Knowledge Is Power and St. Marys Attendees Learned Plenty About The Dangerous Drug Knowledge and a uniform response to the hazards of crystal meth were the key points of last Friday's Crystal Meth Summit, organized by the Perth County Task Force on Crystal Meth. Over 200 police officers, EMS workers, local politicians and social workers attended the daylong event, far exceeding expectations. Catherine Hardman, executive director of addictions counselling group Choices for Change and task force member, said that "the issue is what attracted people to the event." [continues 1243 words]
Monte Kwinter Has Kind Words But Few Solid Answers For Perth County's Meth Warriors The Perth County Task Force on Crystal Meth had a special guest at its last meeting -- the provincial Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, Monte Kwinter. Kwinter gave the group an update on what the provincial task force was doing, and congratulated the Perth group on its initiative and progress. But after the meeting Perth medical officer of health, and task force co-chair Rosana Pellizzari commented that while she appreciated Kwinter's presence, "I don't think he had answers for us -- but he reassured us" that since the province has cracked down on marijuana grow-ops, they will do the same for crystal meth. [continues 1135 words]
After a two-month hiatus due to summer vacation schedules, the Perth County Crystal Meth task force met August 17, with a focus on new legislation that could provide recourse for property owners and municipalities dealing with the remains of meth labs. Perth Middlesex MPP John Wilkinson, Crown Attorney Denis Harrison and Federal Crown Prosecutor John Sipos were on hand to discuss Bill 128, which amends various acts in respect to enforcement powers, penalties and forfeited properties in regard to organized crime, marijuana grow-ops and other unlawful activities. [continues 671 words]
The next step in St. Marys' fight against drugs takes place April 19 at the Lind Sportsplex. Community Link Empowered Against Narcotics (CLEAN), a New Hamburg-based support group for parents of youth involved with drugs, will be visiting to determine if St. Marys should have its own chapter. The meeting takes place at 7 p.m. and anyone interested is invited to attend, in the hopes of finding dedicated persons to take on the project. "We're going to find out what they did and how to set one up here," says Mayor Tony Winter, one of the forces behind the initiative, which emerged from an OPP-led public meeting on crystal meth last year. [continues 276 words]
