VANCOUVER - Ice. Jib. Chrissy. Crank. Tina. Tweak.

It doesn't matter what their patients call it, doctors in British Columbia's street youth clinics say they're hearing more about crystal methamphetamine these days. Use of the synthetic stimulant is definitely on the rise--more rapidly among street youth, but also in high schools across the province.

"Sixty-eight per cent of the street youth we surveyed reported using crystal meth," said Dr. Ian Martin, a family physician at the Three Bridges Community Health Centre in Vancouver, considered to be the province's epicentre of crystal meth resources for street youth. The survey of approximately 200 street youth was conducted last year in Vancouver. "It's a fairly significant health problem."

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