B.C. TAKES AIM AT CRYSTAL METH

Legislators Eye Controls On Over-The-Counter Cold Medicines

VANCOUVER -- B.C. is considering introducing legislation similar to that
enacted in several American states that puts a freeze on the bulk purchase
of over-the-counter cold medicines containing ingredients used to make
methamphetamines.

Oklahoma, which began forcing pharmacists a year ago to put these
medications behind the counter and limit quantities they sell, as well as
having customers show photo identification and sign for them, credits the
law for a dramatic drop in the number of meth laboratories.

Alberta is considering a similar measure and B.C. Solicitor-General Rich
Coleman said Thursday the possibility exists for such legislation here,
although he believes the newly introduced Meth Watch program is a good way
of getting pharmacists and retailers to monitor and report the purchase of
products used to make methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant also
known as crystal meth or speed.

The drug is a growing threat in Canada, particularly in B.C. and Alberta
and a major problem in the U.S., where legislators in at least six states
have taken steps to remove medications such as Sudafed and Actifed, and
their key ingredient, pseudoephedrine, from within easy reach of consumers
who use them for reasons other than alleviating runny noses and coughs.

The Meth Watch program is modelled on one started in Kansas.

Coleman said the province is in the early stages of looking at how either
legislation or regulation can be used to limit access.

"We are looking at it," he said in an interview, adding that while his
staff has been in discussion with the B.C. Pharmacy Association, there have
been no representations from the B.C. Chiefs of Police, of which the RCMP
is a part.

Coleman said he has asked staff to look at U.S. legislation. "We are
looking at jurisdictions around the world on particular initiatives and
legislation. That's how we build better laws."

Canadian federal regulations, enacted in 2003, require only that companies
that manufacture, import, export or distribute precursor chemicals be licensed.

Coleman said the pharmacy association, while co-operative, is against
having the cold medications stored behind the counter, citing space and
dispensary concerns as reasons.

The association's deputy chief executive officer, Ken Foreman, won't
comment on the U.S. laws or what he would like to see being done in B.C.
but said the B.C. Pharmacy Association has indicated to the provincial
government that it is willing to participate in any policy formation.

"I think they need to very carefully look at the situation and analyse
where in fact the ingredients are coming from. Are they coming from
non-prescription items in pharmacies, or diverted from chemical supply
companies? There are a number of questions that remain unanswered," he said.

While the RCMP says small-scale meth laboratories are not common in B.C.,
Mark Woodward, spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous
Drugs Control, said in an interview Thursday that getting the ingredients
out of easy reach will help prevent them.

Two months after the state introduced tougher legislation in April of 2004,
the number of meth lab seizures dropped by 71 per cent, he said.

"It's been a tremendous deterrent."