CITY ALARMED BY NEW DRUG TREND

A string of drug seizures have led police to believe an insidious
street drug has made its way onto the streets of Lloydminster.

A string of drug seizures have led police to believe an insidious
street drug has made its way onto the streets of Lloydminster.

On May 29, Lloydminster RCMP arrested a man and woman driving a
vehicle that had been reported stolen from Edmonton. A search revealed
a substantial amount of methamphetamines, known commonly as crystal
meth. Police say a number of other drug busts have also included more
amounts of the drug, leading them to believe its use is becoming more
prevalent in the city.

Tom Lysyk is director of the city's corporate affairs department,
which provides municipal oversight to the Lloydminster RCMP. He voiced
the concern of police to city council, saying all residents should
heed the warning and be diligent.

"Take the issue of drugs and particularly crystal meth very seriously
because it is a problem in other communities and it is a nightmare in
some communities," said Lysyk. "I think everybody's got to be extra
vigilant."

When it comes to combating drug use, he says the best tool police have
is the public, which is why public awareness is so important.

"The side effects and whatnot from meth are pretty scary, and maybe
that's something people are going to have to start understanding,"
said Teressa Krueckl, co-ordinator for the Lloydminster Area Drug Strategy.

The results of prolonged meth use have been well documented. Users can
become paranoid and some suffer from hallucinations of parasites or
insects crawling under their skin. In many cases, this causes the user
to cut deep lesions all over their body. Even short-term use of meth
can be potentially lethal as it can cause convulsions and heart attacks.

Crystal meth swept across Alberta several years ago, prompting the
government to launch a specialized task force to address the problem.
However, the best government efforts have not been enough to
completely rid the streets of the drug, or any others. Which, is why
it comes back to citizens to do their part and alert police of any
illicit drug use, said Lysyk.

"I would really like not to see that get a foothold in Lloydminster,"
he said. "It gets into other communities and it causes terrible
problems. We don't want it here and we should work together to get rid
of it."