Task force to propose special drug court

Plan to halt spread of crystal meth

Jason van Rassel Calgary Herald

Specialized courts that would send drug users to treatment and adding
hundreds of new beds for addicts are among 83 recommendations to be
released today by a provincial task force formed to fight the spread
of crystal meth in Alberta.

Government sources speaking on condition of anonymity told the Calgary
Herald the report calls for a minimum of 100 new detoxification beds
and at least 200 new treatment beds across the province.

The task force, formed in October 2005, heard repeatedly about the
need for more treatment resources for addicts, said Colleen Klein, who
was appointed to co-chair the initiative by her husband, Premier Ralph
Klein.

"We've got some very remote areas that don't have access (to
treatment). There has to be access for all and no one should be
denied," Colleen Klein said in an interview with the Herald.

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that can be made using
household chemicals and solvents to extract its key ingredient --
ephedrine -- from common over-the-counter cold and allergy
medications.

Treatment is only one area touched on by the task force.

It also makes recommendations on improving drug education for youth,
changes to the justice system and increased police resources targeting
crystal meth.

The report calls on the federal government to change the Criminal Code
to include tougher sentences for people convicted of making and
selling meth, as well as imposing tighter controls on the precursors
used to make it.

For addicts, however, the task force is recommending a different
approach: specialized courts that offer treatment instead of jail for
those deemed eligible -- usually non-violent offenders who commit
crimes to pay for their addiction.

Specialized courts have reduced drug-related offences in many U.S.
jurisdictions since they were introduced more than a decade ago.

"Instead of slapping everyone in jail, you provide healing," Colleen
Klein said.

Edmonton already has a federally-funded drug court, and officials in
Calgary recently formed a committee to establish one here.

Although meth use isn't epidemic in Alberta, its explosive growth in
the U.S. prompted formation of the task force to prevent a similar
crisis here.

"The threat today, as opposed to when I first became interested four
years ago, is growing and growing. It's certainly not going away,"
Colleen Klein said.

Police are encountering more meth on the streets, but the quantities
still pale in comparison to the amount of crack cocaine changing hands.

City police have recorded 78 incidents involving meth so far this
year, compared with 52 during the same period in 2005.

However, it's a fraction of the 756 crack cocaine offences recorded by
police by the end of July.

Nevertheless, Calgary police are concerned about meth's spread and
drug investigators said greater enforcement would turn up more of it.

"If we had a dedicated investigative initiative doing strictly crystal
meth, you'd see a significant rise in seizures and more success in
finding labs," said Staff Sgt. Monty Sparrow.

Last year, the Alberta College of Pharmacists took steps to fight meth
production by limiting access to medications with ephedrine or its
synthetic form, pseudoephedrine.

That move has thwarted so-called mom and pop labs in other
jurisdictions, but the overwhelming majority of meth in Alberta is
made by organized crime groups that steal or buy bulk quantities of
pseudoephedrine.

Although the five clandestine labs dismantled by the RCMP in 2005
represents a decrease from 13 in 2002, most were large rural
operations capable of making several pounds of meth in a single cook.

"It's easier for the bad guys to go undetected there," said Cpl.
Barbara Hope of the RCMP's provincial clandestine lab team.