GOV'TS PLEDGE METH INGREDIENT SALE RESTRICTIONS

REGINA -- The fight against crystal meth abuse has led the western provinces
and territories to crack down on the sale of cold medicines that contain
ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient in the highly addictive
drug.

The "one of a kind" meeting of western ministers and government officials on
crystal meth ended Friday with an agreement to come up with a plan by Oct. 1
to put restrictions on the sale of the medicines.

Participants also agreed to hold a western Canadian clinical conference to
discuss the best practices in prevention and treatment.

And they called on the federal government to toughen the laws around crystal
meth and put tighter controls on the chemicals used in producing the drug.

Premier Lorne Calvert, who instigated and chaired the meeting, said use of
the drug is spreading from west to east, and governments must act before it
becomes an epidemic in Canada.

"We have an opportunity here to do some preventative methods for once and
deal very clearly and definitely with crystal meth now," he said at the
closing press conference at the Hotel Saskatchewan Radisson Plaza.

"It is clear that we are not an island and that this is moving. If the
United States is any example it moves quickly and it moves dramatically. We
have an opportunity around crystal meth to draw a line in the sand and say,
'It's just not going to happen.' "

The politicians and civil servants heard from officials in the fields of law
enforcement, prevention and treatment as well as first-hand accounts from
two young recovered crystal meth addicts from Saskatoon who accompanied
Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Chief Alphonse Bird.

Dustin Paul and Angel MacDonald told the officials harrowing tales of
becoming quickly addicted to a drug that brought intense highs, followed by
paranoia, illness and desperation.

"When you start coming down off of it, that's when you're like, 'Oh God, I
need more, where do I get more?' You go out there and do stupid things to
get it, you rob people off the street. You don't know them, you just rob
them because they have something you want," said the 18-year-old MacDonald.

"You will die if you keep on using it," said Paul, 17.

Both said it's not difficult to get crystal meth in Saskatoon.

Officials estimate that the number of people in Saskatchewan who have tried
an amphetamine-type stimulant in the last year is around 3,000 to 5,000
people. A report that put the figure as high as 27,700 contained an error
that inflated the figure.

Bird said there is a crying need for more resources for prevention and
treatment of crystal meth abuse in aboriginal communities.

The current resources are barely capable of dealing with the abuse of
alcohol and other drugs, he said.

"We were here to send a reality check to the lawmakers," said Bird.

While the governments of the four western provinces and the three
territories did not pledge new money, Alberta Health Minister Iris Evans
said it's inevitable that more resources will flow once the best practices
for treatment are determined at the clinical conference.

Much of the final communique was aimed at the federal government, with the
officials urging the government to implement harsher penalties for crystal
meth possession and trafficking, expand legislation to create offences for
possession on precursor ingredients of crystal meth and tighten licensing
controls on precursors to restrict superlabs creating crystal meth.

Calvert said it's unfathomable that penalties for crystal meth trafficking
are not as harsh as those for heroin or marijuana.

"The federal government should be ambitious and very robust in their
response because it's moving east," said Evans.

Federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Justice Minister Irwin Cotler
issued a press release Friday saying the government plans to put tighter
licensing controls on chemical ingredients used to make crystal meth and
gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), also known as a "date rape" drug.

The government is also considering changes to the Controlled Drugs and
Substances Act to move crystal meth to a different schedule to allow for
tougher penalties. A decision is expected in the fall.

RCMP Chief Supt. Raf Souccar, who addressed the meeting, said tougher
potential sentences send a message, but more needs to be done.

"You can increase a sentence from a maximum of 10 years to 20 years (but) if
the courts continue to give one or two years or six months in jail, then it
doesn't make a difference. Minimum sentences are something that need to be
spoken of, whether that's necessary, and sentencing guidelines," he told
reporters.

Calvert said the governments could not come to immediate agreement on how to
implement the restrictions on cold medicines, but officials would come up
with a plan by the fall.

The leaders also want the provincial and federal governments, along with the
aboriginal community, to develop a national campaign on the drug.

"We have to spread the word to youth, don't even try this drug, not even
once," said Manitoba Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh.