METH CRAZE YET TO HIT COUNTY HARD: COPS

Police in Simcoe County haven't yet seen meth labs "take root" in the
area as was predicted several years ago, according to an OPP officer.

Sgt. Tom McMenemy works with the OPP Drug Enforcement unit at the
Orillia headquarters, and said cops thought the methamphetamine trend
would've already come to the area.

"In a nutshell, it has hit hard in Western Canada. In Ontario, it's
in Perth County and Stratford," said McMenemy.

Since 2000, the OPP's Clandestine Lab Investigation Response Team has
been ready to pounce on the deadly chemical labs. Some OPP officers
now carry hazardous material equipment, like chemical suits, in their
vehicles to protect officers from exposure.

"We've been bracing for it for a long time. There are 30 officers
trained for it, and in some parts of Ontario it's a major problem
already, but we haven't seen chronic use in Simcoe County."

As far as meth labs are concerned, McMenemy has seen them in bushes,
sheds, trailers, hotel rooms and houses.

"Everything low-end, all the way up to beautiful, big places."

He said in a home, meth could be manufactured in a bathtub or a bucket.

Typically, McMenemy is seeing meth in pill form and says that means
it's been made in a large-scale lab. It also means that young people
might be experimenting with it.

"We're not seeing the powdered crystal here, although there were some
seizures in Gooderham in February 2007."

It can be a cheap drug, costing anywhere from $20 to $40 for a hit.

"Its effects last longer than coke or crack, and it is so intense
that rates of addiction are quite high."