DRUG A CHEAP HIGH FOR KIDS -- BIG HEADACHE FOR POLICE

KIDS call it speed, meth, crank or ice.

Police call it one of the fastest growing popular drugs in Winnipeg,
even becoming the drug of choice at some suburban high schools.

It's crystal methamphetamine, and city drug investigators made their
latest seizure of it Saturday night during a rave at the former
Horseshoe Cabaret at 345 Donald St.

Police arrested a 21-year-old man who had organized and was deejaying
the rave, finding 50 "points" of crystal methamphetamine -- about
five grams, worth $1,500 -- in his possession. They believe he
intended to sell the drugs during the rave and charged him with
possession for the purpose of trafficking.

"Kids find it very favourable," Sgt. Lyle MacMillan said yesterday.
"We've known about it for a few years, but it's becoming more popular
all the time.

"It's cheap, about $20 a hit, and for what it does kids find they get
a real bang for their buck."

Zenon Lisakowski, a prevention education consultant with the
Addictions Foundation of Manitoba, said staff have noticed a small
increase in the number of young clients saying they use crystal
methamphetamine.

Lisakowski said the number will likely continue to rise, as it has in
the United States and on Canada's West Coast, as more people start
using it instead of cocaine, which is more costly and produces a
shorter high.

MacMillan said crystal methamphetamine causes an almost immediate
high, giving a user a four-to six-hour burst of energy.

What also has police concerned is that it's easy to make locally,
with easy-to-obtain ingredients, following a recipe available on the
Internet. Even more troubling is that police can chart its rise in
popularity with the arrival in Winnipeg of the Hells Angels
motorcycle gang a year ago.

"With the Hells Angels arriving we're not seeing a decrease in its
use, and I don't think that's a coincidence," vice Insp. Stan Tataryn
said.

Police intelligence shows more teenagers are open to using crystal
methamphetamine, particularly at raves, but also any time they want
to get high.

"Parents have to be more vigilant with their kids," MacMillan said.
"They have to be concerned with what they're doing and who they're
associating with. We need parents' help as much as anything."

He added parents can tell if their kids are using the drug if their
behavior changes, and they're more anxious than normal.

Methamphetamine is a white, odourless, bitter-tasting crystalline
powder that easily dissolves in water or alcohol. Depending what form
it's in, methamphetamine can be smoked, snorted, orally ingested or
injected. The drug alters moods in different ways, depending on how
it's taken.

It was developed from its parent drug, amphetamine, and was used
originally in nasal decongestants and bronchial inhalers.
Methamphetamine's chemical structure is similar to that of
amphetamine, but it has more pronounced effects on the central
nervous system. Like amphetamine, it causes increased activity,
decreased appetite, and a general sense of well-being. The effects of
methamphetamine can last four to eight hours. After the initial
"rush," there's typically a state of high agitation that in some
individuals can lead to violent behaviour.

That violence also has police worried. In the U.S., police officers
have been killed by people on "crystal meth" binges.

"It affects different people differently," MacMillan said. "It can be
a drug where people become very violent."

MacMillan added police across the country want tougher restrictions
on who can buy the ingredients to make crystal methamphetamine. These
ingredients, common in everyday cold remedies, can be bought over the
counter in Canada.

A recent RCMP report on the subject condemned Canada's lax laws and
said the country is fast-becoming a safe haven for makers of illegal
designer drugs, like crystal methamphetamine and ecstasy.

"When someone comes into a store and buys large quantities of these
ingredients, not once but several times, you can bet it's not because
they have a cold," MacMillan said.

They want a law where stores selling these ingredients have to report
the buyers' names to law officials, so police can keep track of
possible labs being set up.

Police also believe the crystal methamphetamine seized Saturday was
likely made in a local, underground lab.

Last July police uncovered a major designer-drug laboratory on Boyd
Avenue in the north end. They say it was used to make ecstasy and
speed and to grow marijuana.