METH LATEST HOT ILLEGAL DRUG, SAY COPS

City cops say methamphetamine is becoming the illegal drug of choice
with many students in Winnipeg's suburbs and rave scene.

Methamphetamine, also called crank, is a party drug that's as
addictive as crack cocaine, can be easily cooked-up at home and can
kill the users that get hooked on it.

A police source tapped into the city's high-school scene has told
drug unit cops crank is already the preferred narcotic in certain
suburban Winnipeg schools.

Winnipeg drug cops over the weekend seized 50 hits of meth, a central
nervous system stimulant, and charged a 21-year-old promoter and DJ
with possession for the purpose of trafficking.

"We're concerned when we see this. We wonder whether raves are about
entertainment or building up a drug market," said Insp. Stan Tataryn,
head of Winnipeg's vice unit.

'Rapid Spread'

Police nabbed the suspect in the Question Mark Cabaret, 345 Donald
St., on Saturday evening. The five grams of transparent crystals,
packaged in one tenth of a gram "points," have a street value of
about $1,500. Police said the man leased the building for the party
and has been released on a promise to appear in court.

"I've seen the same disturbing pattern with crack (cocaine) that I'm
seeing with the rapid spread of methamphetamine," said RCMP Cpl.
Scott Rintoul, a 12-year drug investigator in Vancouver area. "And
beyond that, meth is easy to make, no cartels from Columbia or
elsewhere have to be cut in or dealt with and you don't have to face
border guards."

Rintoul said makers and suppliers see crank as a source of easy
money. "It's poised to be the next drug epidemic in this country," he
said. Winnipeg drug cop Sgt. Lyle MacMillan agrees and believes
several "mom-and-pop" meth labs are active in Winnipeg.

MacMillan said the drug, which can be snorted, injected smoked or
swallowed, supercharges the brain and fools the body into believing
it has an endless supply of energy. When the drug wears off in four
to six hours it leaves the user with an intense low.

High doses can cause hallucinations, extreme paranoia and violent
behaviour, and the crash after the high includes deep depression,
fatigue and headaches.

The key components of the drug -- ephedrine and hydroiodic acid --
can be found in cold medicine.

"Aside of how easy it is to manufacture, the drug appeals to users
because its effects last so long," Tataryn said.

"And from a policing point of view, the drug's aggressive
side-effects make it dangerous. In the U.S. there are tales where
police have needed to shoot a person on the drug several times to
even stop them," he said.