In light of the $1 million in provincial funding heading their way, the Perth County Meth Task Force is seeing fit to create a formal structure in which to identify areas of concern and properly allocate funds for different projects. Members of the Task Force got their first look at what the structure might look like at their April 19 meeting in Stratford. A presentation was made to the Task Force members by Tim Cronsberry, public manager of communicable disease for the Perth District Health Unit, who had been working on developing the structure for the previous two weeks. [continues 549 words]
Dear Editor; How should St. Marys respond to illicit methamphetamine use? Here in the United States, New York City chose the zero tolerance approach during the crack epidemic of the eighties. Meanwhile, Washington, DC Mayor Marion Barry was smoking crack and America's capital had the highest per capita murder rate in the country. Yet crack use declined in both cities simultaneously. The decline was not due to a slick anti-drug advertising campaign or the passage of mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Simply put, the younger generation saw firsthand what crack was doing to their older siblings and decided for themselves that crack was bad news. [continues 168 words]
As the number of stories of dramatic crystal meth lab explosions and police busts have fallen off the front page, it's easy to think that if it's not news, it may not be a problem for our area any more. But after attending the Perth County Crystal Meth Summit last Friday, that sense of ignorance has fallen by the wayside. Sitting in on a presentation from Stratford police officer Mike Bellai on the city's struggle with the drug was a shocker. Scenes you'd only expect to see in the grittiest of crime movies have happened in Stratford: toxic waste dumped in a city park, only to be discovered by children playing nearby; an addict who endlessly drives around the city on a bicycle for days while high; a family sedan with a full lab set up in the trunk. [continues 375 words]
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]
Task Force Wants to Bring Community 'Up to Speed' On the Insidious Drug Plans for a one-day summit on the issues concerning crystal meth and hosted by Perth County for neighboring counties are beginning to crystalize. The summit is an effort by the Perth County Task Force on Crystal Meth to share its knowledge and experience on meth, as well as spread the word on what they've tried to do and tried to learn. The format could feature a number of "breakout sessions," on topics including health promotion and community awareness, treatment, enforcement and first responders in the community, possibly featuring a panel of police, fire and ambulance personnel. [continues 442 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]
The Ontario government is providing one-time funding of $20,000 to Choices for Change, Alcohol, Drug and Gambling Counselling Centre to help support its withdrawal management services, Perth Middlesex MPP John Wilkinson announced last week. "People suffering from addiction need WMS, as close to home as possible," said Wilkinson, in a press release. "Today's funding will enable Choices for Change to continue to make a real difference in lives of those in need of WMS in Perth County." The funds are to hire a consultant to help with planning to develop local rationalization plans within the South West Local Health Integration Network (LHIN). [continues 124 words]
Open Meeting For The Community At 7:30 P.M. At DCVI; Students To Learn During School Hours This Thursday, March 30, the St. Marys Drug Information Initiative Committee is holding a Drug Information Day for students in grades 7 to 12 taking place at St. Marys DCVI. The committee, created after an OPP-led community information evening on crystal meth held last October, has designed the program and drug information day as a first step. There will be two presentations, a morning event intended for the students and an evening presentation for parents and interested community members. [continues 334 words]
When dealing with a drug scourge like crystal meth, it sometimes seem an uphill, perhaps even futile struggle to stop the spread. When drug dealers and producers can be found boldly producing the product in residential areas, when courts deal with an ever-increasing list of meth-related crimes and more and more young people are finding themselves hooked on the addictive and destructive drug, it might tempt some to throw up their hands and ask "What can be done?" Fortunately, there are people working on solutions. The Perth County Task Force on Crystal Meth recently came forward with five proposals to offer a provincial working group dealing with meth issues. For the most part, their proposals represent realistic and practical ways to tackle the problems associated with meth. [continues 360 words]
Perth County officials will soon recommend the provincial government back a plan to increase the minimum sentence for production of methamphetamine, fund programs to treat users of the drug and make it easier for police to inspect dwellings believed to house clandestine labs. At a December meeting, The Perth County Task Force on Crystal Meth came up with five tentative proposals to offer a province-wide working group dealing with the meth trade, North Perth mayor Ed Hollinger said in an interview last week. The group hopes the tactics will block the expansion of the meth trade, which over the past few years has spread from Canada's prairie provinces to Ontario. [continues 498 words]
'Crystal Meth' Increasingly A Drug Of Choice For Youth Perth County made front page news in the Toronto Star on Saturday, June 18 with mention of St. Marys in a story about crystal methamphetamine becoming a big problem. The article describes how "crystal meth" labs have become very prevalent in Perth County and the hardships many young people have endured because of their addiction to the drug. "Through our investigations we certainly do know there are meth labs out there and people making methamphetamine and I think over the last two years we've had 12 or 13 meth labs that we have come across in our area," Constable Glen Childerley, Sebringville OPP Media Relations Officer told the Journal Argus. [continues 613 words]
Here's an incomplete and entirely unscientific list of substances commonly considered in Canadian society to be both addictive (thereby causing some sort of withdrawal if usage is ceased), and to provide some sort of temporary but desirable psychological effect. Coffee: really only a risk to drivers and pedestrians due to the very common practice of trying to consume one while driving. Health studies have shown both positive and negative health effects. Legal. Alcohol: driving is a risk to all. Effects of moderate-to-high consumption vary, but often include abusive behaviour. Detrimental health effects of high or addictive-level consumption. Legal for adults. [continues 377 words]
AIDS Action Perth staged assemblies at St. Marys DCVI last week, complete with rapper, dancers, and a Stratford Festival actress . . . but it was a 34-year-old Stratford man's account of contracting and living with HIV that had to leave the biggest impression on the students. A youth-friendly program has been adopted by AIDS Action Perth because AIDS organizations have learned their message is not getting through to teenagers. But teens couldn't help but be moved by Mike Patterson's talk, as he detailed years of "bad choices" which led him to the life he's forced to live today. [continues 983 words]
An Ontario judge threw out a case involving a pot-smoking driver, setting a precedent that has a lot of people scratching their heads. Apparently the driver has legal permission to smoke marijuana for medical reasons. He was smoking while driving, and got stopped for a traffic offence. The judge decided it could not be proved the marijuana caused the offence. In essence, the judge handed the man a "get out of jail free" card. He, and others who have medical permission to consume the drug, can now do it while driving. [continues 540 words]
