STIFFER PENALTIES ADDED TO ARSENAL IN FIGHT ON METH

Police Brace For When 'Poor Man's Cocaine' Arrives In Quantity

Faced with the imminent, full-blown arrival of crystal meth on Ottawa
streets, police hope tougher penalties for those who use, produce and
traffic the drug will pay off in their battles down the road.

The federal government announced yesterday, the maximum penalty for
possession, trafficking and production of crystal meth -- known
officially as methamphetamine and commonly referred to as "a poor
man's cocaine" -- would increase from 10 years imprisonment to life.

Health experts say crystal meth causes significant health, social and
economic harms to users and communities and Ottawa police are watching
as the drug sweeps across the country from Western Canada.

"Our police intelligence says the drug is coming and certainly Toronto
is taking a hit now and they will take that hit before we do," said
Staff Sgt. Pierre Gauthier of the Ottawa police drug unit. "We know
it's here and we have made some seizures.

"It's not the major problem it is out West where it's full-blown. But
it will get here and we're hoping we're ready for it."

The new, harsher penalties bring offences involving the drug in line
with those for substances that pose comparable levels of risk to the
health and safety of individuals.

Federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said the most serious cases will
be dealt with by a special team of federal prosecutors.

"It is not only a matter of law enforcement, but a matter of the
protection of human rights, in particular, the rights of victims," he
said in a statement. "The law must therefore not only reflect the
seriousness of the offence but its impact on families and
communities."

The drug is easy to produce and recipes can be found on the Internet.
Earlier this year, the federal government proposed adding four
substances to a list of controlled chemicals to thwart the production
of crystal meth. The aim was to make possession of these precursor
chemicals for the purposes of producing a controlled substance an
offence that would result in a fine of up to $5,000, up to three years
in prison, or both.

Crystal meth can be produced just about anywhere and is commonly made
in small labs by mixing a cocktail of chemicals.

The main ingredient is pseudoephedrine, which is found in cold remedies.

The drug is cheap and highly addictive. It can be snorted, smoked,
injected or swallowed. Users often ingest large quantities of crystal
meth over several days or even weeks.

"People are producing it out of the trunk of their car or in their
kitchen .. just about anywhere," said Staff Sgt. Gauthier. "And that's
part of the problem. People producing it don't know what their doing.
They're producing it from some recipe they may have found on the
Internet and they don't know exactly how they're putting it together.
Meth is easily made and it's very dangerous."