CONFERENCE SEARCHES FOR CRYSTAL METH'S LURE

VANCOUVER - It may contain brake fluid and hydrochloric acid, but at
$5 a hit with a high that lasts for hours, crystal meth is
increasingly becoming the drug of choice in the 21st century.

And it's that rock-bottom price, combined with brutal effects on the
brain, that has 250 experts meeting in Vancouver Monday through
Wednesday to search for answers at the Western Summit on
Methamphetamine.

"In Western Canada, we are seeing an increasing trend towards the use
of synthetic drugs such as crystal meth," said Jennifer Vornbrock,
summit chairwoman and Vancouver Coastal Health manager. "Not only
among at-risk youth, but across all socio-economic
backgrounds."

Like amphetamines, which have long been used in the military and
pressured professions to stave off sleep and suppress appetite, a
"run" of crystal meth can keep people awake for a week, while making
users more sociable and heightening their sexual pleasure.
Unfortunately, by week's end paranoia and violent urges can result.

Then there's the brain damage.

"This is not some kind of drug you can just try," said Jane Buxton, a
B.C. Centre for Disease Control epidemiologist and University of B.C.
associate professor who is part of a countrywide surveillance system
on drug abuse. "This is highly addictive."

Vornbrock listed just some of the mix found in a crystal meth chemical
stew: The cold medicine pseudo-ephedrine, nail polish remover, red
phosphorus -- which is used in fireworks and matches -- hydrochloric
acid, brake fluid, pesticides, lighter fluid and driveway cleaner. And
with ingredients easily purchased and recipes to make meth available
on the Internet, police are finding meth labs cropping up big and small.

As for who uses crystal meth, Buxton said high-school-age use has
remained steady in the three-to five-per-cent range over the past
five years, but a survey of downtown Vancouver street youth found a
70-per-cent use rate.

Meth is also now a staple of the gay/rave club scene.

"We need to find out why people are taking crystal meth," Buxton said.

But any solutions will be "not just a drug treatment situation," she
warned.