CRYSTAL METH LEADS TO REALLY BAD TRIP

Given the shambles that much of Canadian drug law has become, it's hard to
imagine Ottawa's latest "tough new measure" against methamphetamine will
actually accomplish much. Still, raising the maximum penalty for producing
or distributing the stuff, previously 10 years, to life in prison - the
move announced yesterday - is a step in the right direction. But it's a
very short step on a long and unmapped road.

Justice Minister Irwin Cotler also said yesterday a special team of federal
prosecutors will handle cases involving this drug, often called crystal
meth. Cotler, who can discern a human right in anything, oddly tried to
convince the country that crystal meth is a serious problem - which it is -
by invoking the human rights of users.

The drug is certainly dangerous. It is not very expensive, but is
addictive. Persistent use leads to everything from tooth decay and
impotence to depression, cognitive impairment and death.

It is said that the average lifespan of a user, once addicted, is just
seven years. University of Toronto researchers found a single dose during
pregnancy can cause long-term developmental defects.

The stuff is cheaply made with common chemicals - some of which Ottawa has
previously proposed to name controlled substances, so that illegal
possession could bring you a fine or a jail term.

The key ingredient in this alarming drug is pseudoephedrine, better known
to most people as the vital ingredient in hay fever medications, which are
used by countless Canadians, especially in summertime.

This month, Oregon lawmakers took a different approach: Sinus sufferers
there now need a doctor's prescription to buy those sinus-allergy-relief
products. And Oklahoma, for one, has a law that stops short of requiring a
prescription, but which says the product must be stored behind pharmacists'
counters, and puts a low limit on the amount a person can buy at one time.
Hawaii is considering a similar law; other states may follow.

However, that approach doesn't seem to do much good. Published reports
indicate the Oklahoma law led to a decline in raids on illicit labs where
crystal meth is made, but no decline in supply. A lot of crystal meth in
the United States now apparently comes from Mexico.

Cotler's musings about human rights give rise to an interesting corollary:
Should there be a human right to become an addict? A growing number of
Canadians take the view that drug laws fill the prisons and the gunshot
wards in hospitals, without much reducing drug use.

We're not convinced the time for legalization of addictive drugs will ever
come, but the idea of more national debate is not unwelcome, given the mess
Ottawa has made of laws about even marijuana.

Politicians, as we have noted often in this space, frequently find it
easier to make a new law or regulation than to enforce the ones on the books.

This new initiative may help, but nobody should believe that new
theoretical maximum sentences will much reduce the supply of, or the demand
for, psychotropic drugs.