GOV'T MUST FUND CRYSTAL METH FIGHT: OPPOSITION

REGINA -- The Saskatchewan Party says the provincial government must put
new resources into the fight against crystal meth, as the NDP prepares for
the imminent release of reports on substance abuse and the province's finances.

Graham Addley, appointed as legislative secretary to Premier Lorne Calvert
to study alcohol and drug abuse issues, will present his report to the
premier this week. Its findings, and the government's response, will likely
be made public shortly thereafter.

By the end of July the government will also release its first-quarter
financial statement, which is expected to show as much as $80 million extra
in government coffers because of high oil royalties.

"If we, at the end of the next quarter, can say that we've had $60 a barrel
oil and we still don't have any place where we can send our young people
when they have addictions . . . they should be ashamed of themselves as
government," Saskatchewan Party MLA June Draude said in a telephone
interview Tuesday.

Health Minister John Nilson said the government may put more resources
toward substance-abuse programs.

"If in fact there are resources that are going to be expended in some new
areas because of some new resources we've got, this would be clearly right
at the top or close to the top," he said in an interview.

Draude said a dedicated facility for youth and an increase in addiction
treatment beds are areas where the province needs to put money.

The Whitespruce youth centre cost about $2.4 million to run on an annual
basis before it was closed as a budget-cutting measure in 1996.

Education and enforcement measures against crystal meth also require more
resources because the long-term costs of not dealing immediately with the
highly addictive drug are astronomical, said Draude.

The Opposition has been pushing the government on crystal meth for more
than a year. In recent months Calvert has made the issue one of his major
priorities, recently hosting a meeting of Western Canadian politicians to
deal with crystal meth.

The NDP government has promised 12 new beds to be added to the mental
health services building in Saskatoon specifically for youth addictions.
This year's budget saw an additional $1.8 million for a provincial drug
strategy.

Addley, the NDP MLA for Saskatoon Sutherland, couldn't talk about the
specifics of his report Tuesday but said Calvert wanted him to identify
gaps in addictions services.

"There are going to be cases where we're spending resources that we can
reallocate and change so that won't cost anything. But of course there's
going to be things that will cost money," he said in an interview.

"Some of the suggestions are fairly unique and not easily implemented. Some
of them can be done fairly quickly and some of them are going to take five
years."

When Addley's interim report was issued in April, the government agreed to
his recommendations of a 24-hour help line, awareness information for
students and improved in-patient services for young people with addictions..