METH LABS A REALITY IN RURAL ALBERTA

Numbers Are Down As The Fight Continues

RCMP say the fight against methamphetamine is doing well in Alberta
compared to the other provinces.

Drug labs are down, education is up and residents of rural areas are
on the lookout for clandestine labs. RCMP Staff Sgt. Ian Sanderson
warned a farm-friendly crowd at the 2008 Provincial Agricultural
Services Committee conference in Grande Prairie last week everyone
must remain vigilant to keep the fight going against meth production.

Sanderson is based out of Edmonton with the Drugs and Organized Crime
Awareness Service of the RCMP. Sanderson said meth labs are a major
risk to public health as they are made in Canada, unlike other illicit
drugs produced overseas.

Throughout the meth production process, the toxic chemicals used to
produce the drug put producers, their children and the environment at
risk. Much of the dumping is done in areas where the effluent
threatens ground water and vegetation, which can take years to recover.

The RCMP officer said rural pharmacies are being increasingly targeted
by meth producers looking to obtain the large amounts of iodine and
pseudoephedrine needed to make the drug.

"Somebody that's out collecting 700 to a 1,000 tablets of this drug is
not trying to cure the common cold," said the RCMP Sanderson said
while police haven't busted a lab in the past year in Alberta, it does
not mean they aren't operating in the shadows.

"We do know that there has been a fair bit of diversion (dumping of
drug ingredients) still going on around here and so we are ever
present looking for those labs because we know very likely there are
still some around, but they're not as obvious."

The RCMP officer said rural areas around the province, including the
Alberta Peace, are targets for the construction of drug labs.

"It's a phenomenon that these things are moving from the major centres
out into rural areas," Sanderson said.

"We want to make sure if it is, we hear about it right away, so we can
act to limit the damage."

For that reason, the RCMP enlisted the support of wheat inspectors, as
well as Alberta Agriculture and Food, to help sniff out illicit drug
operations. Earlier this year, Sanderson spoke with inspectors in
Rycroft, outside of Grande Prairie, to teach them how to detect drug
labs when they're out working.

But the public is the police force's most useful asset, he
noted.

"If you happen to see one or hear of one ... call 911, realize that
you're dealing with a hazardous-goods incident," said Sanderson. He
said while cocaine is a bigger problem for police in Alberta than
methamphetamine, the dangers of producing the latter warrants action
by rural communities, the police and the province.

"Let people know, this is potentially something that could hurt you or
the people around you."