COCAINE, OTHER DRUGS TOP PROVINCE'S THREAT LIST -- FOR
NOW

REGINA -- While Saskatchewan residents are growing more concerned
about crystal meth abuse in the province, police say right now cocaine
is the more common drug.

A new poll, commissioned by The StarPhoenix, The Leader-Post and
Global TV and conducted by Sigma Analytics, shows the public believes
alcohol, followed by marijuana and crystal meth, are the most abused
substances in the province. Talwin-Ritalin, cocaine and solvent abuse,
respectively, were considered less widespread.

Regina police Chief Cal Johnston said while alcohol abuse is the
biggest problem officers face on a day-to-day basis, cocaine is
probably next on that list and is, for now, a bigger problem than
crystal meth.

"At the current time, (crystal meth) is not what I would characterize
as the most serious drug of abuse in Saskatchewan or in our
community," he said Friday after addressing politicians at a summit on
crystal meth in Regina. "However, that needs to be understood that the
use of methamphetamine is spreading regionally and into pockets. So
there are pockets in Saskatchewan where methamphetamine is a very
serious problem. It's not so much so in Regina as perhaps in the North
and some smaller communities."

Crystal meth has gained much attention in recent months because of its
debilitating effect on addicts. The drug is cheap to buy and is
causing growing problems not just in urban populations but also for
those in rural and reserve settings.

Brian Checkley, an addictions counsellor at the Metis Addictions
Council of Saskatchewan Inc., said he hasn't dealt with a lot of
crystal meth addicts in Regina, and sees more cocaine and
Talwin-Ritalin addicts than anything else. That, however, doesn't mean
the problem isn't growing.

"Crystal meth is probably, across the province, being abused more than
the Ts and Rs. North of us seems to be where the crystal meth issue is
- -- it really seems to be more of a stronghold.

"People have a pretty good idea. Alcohol is still I think up there as
No. 1. There's a lot of focus on the crystal meth but there also still
a lot of cocaine and crack that are available."

Chief Supt. Raf Souccar, the director general of drug enforcement and
organized crime for the RCMP, said while crystal meth isn't the drug
of choice now, that doesn't mean its use isn't high.

"The problem certainly goes in cycles when it comes to
methamphetamines. It was high during the late '70s, early '80s," he
said. "Then the cycle went down and it's back up again."

The poll also found that while cocaine ranked behind crystal meth and
Talwin-Ritalin in perceived use, 22.7 per cent of respondents actually
knew someone who had abused cocaine compared with 19.6 per cent for
meth and 14.2 per cent for Talwin and Ritalin. Nearly 87 per cent said
they knew someone who had abused alcohol, while 43.5 per cent knew a
person who abused marijuana.

Residents of northern areas of the province, particularly Prince
Albert, also perceived more drug use than those in the South. Areas
along the Yellowhead Highway were also perceived to have higher rates
of substance abuse.

RCMP said in terms of crystal meth, Saskatoon and the Melfort-Naicam
area have been identified as spots of high use.

Sigma Analytics is a Saskatchewan polling and market research firm.
The poll consists of 800 telephone interviews conducted with
Saskatchewan residents aged 18 years or older in late May. The results
from a sample of this size are considered to be accurate within plus
or minus 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.