METH MAKING INROADS IN CITY

There is a growing methamphetamine problem on the Island, says a
doctor at Nanaimo's best-known addiction treatment clinic.

That hit home Friday, when Nanaimo RCMP seized a kilogram of the drug
at Departure Bay ferry terminal.

The bust happened at 11:34 p.m.

Mohamedaly Seu and Roy Ban, both 18, of Nanaimo, were arrested and
later charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking

Methamphetamine is growing in popularity, said Mel Vincent, a
psychiatrist at Edgewood Chemical Dependency Treatment Centre.

"In terms of the Vancouver Island area and the Lower Mainland it's
definitely been increasing - the frequency and the availability has
been going up because it's cheaper and it's longer acting," Vincent said.

"It's a concern, partly because it's increasing and partly because
it's a very destructive drug," he said. "It's very highly addictive
and for some people it can cause them to become psychotic - like
schizophrenia, in a more chronic manner."

The drug activates the pleasure centre in the brain, and the user
soon wants more and more. Some women first try it to control hunger
and lose weight.

"When people get on it, all they notice initially is, 'wow, this
feels good...' The negative effects, of course, don't come until
they're really addicted to it."

"Then at the end they're in this trap where biologically they want it
more and more, even though they're not even able to get pleasure from
it any more and they know they're going to get paranoid and
uncomfortable with it. But they can't not take it."

Addicts become emaciated, with skin blotches and even permanent brain damage

Vincent said few meth addicts check themselves into Edgewood, a
private clinic where treatment can cost thousands of dollars. Still,
he's seeing more users.

"There's no question on the Island it's going up, although
comparatively there's still a lot more cocaine - crack and powder -
than methamphetamine," he said.

Vincent said young people are the most likely to use it, but Const.
Wayne Vaughan, a Nanaimo RCMP youth liaison officer, said he's seen
no evidence of that.

"You can have some young people using it, but it's not in the main,"
Vaughan said. "There's ecstasy - it can be there and kids don't realize it."