CRYSTAL METH ATTACK LAUNCHED

Provincial Strategy Nothing But Pamphlets, Says Madoff

The B.C. government announced Tuesday a provincewide drug strategy to
prevent and treat addictions to crystal methamphetamine, a cheap and
highly addictive synthetic stimulant that has been compared to crack
cocaine.

"We hope it will prevent people from using crystal meth, and for those
who are using it, to help get them off," said Susan Brice, B.C.
minister of state for mental health and addictions services.

"We have heard the growing concerns of parents, teachers and frontline
workers about the harmful impacts of crystal," she said.

The integrated strategy involves six B.C. ministries, six health
authorities, police and the justice system "so they can maximize their
efforts," said Brice.

The strategy does not provide funding. All ministries and authorities
involved are expected to meet their commitments within their existing
budgets, said Brice.

Victoria Coun. Pam Madoff is concerned the 47-page strategy amounts to
nothing more than educational pamphlets being disseminated: "I
couldn't believe there's nothing substantive in it.

"We all know what the problem is," said Madoff. "We should be in
action mode."

On Vancouver Island, 356 people were admitted to community addiction
services last year for amphetamine misuse. Its use is higher in males
than females and higher in urban than rural areas, according to B.C.
Health Services data.

Victoria police Const. Rick Anthony said the "frighteningly addictive"
drug touches people from various age groups and socio-economic
backgrounds, and crosses all municipal boundaries in B.C.

Victoria property-crime detectives believe a majority of break-ins are
related to crystal meth, said Anthony.

"The more you do the more you want," he said. When the user runs out
of cash to pay for the habit, cars are broken into for stereos, CDs,
even loose change, said Anthony.

He said the integrated strategy is the first provincewide program
focused specifically on crystal meth. Any partnership formed to combat
its use, creation, distribution and addiction is a step in the right
direction, he said.

The strategy's priorities include:

* Identifying high-risk populations

* Reducing the number of overdoses (12 in B.C. last year according to
the B.C. Coroners Service) and harm suffered by those on the drug

* Creating a plan to curtail or red-flag the sale of vast quantities
of ingredients used to make crystal meth and thereby reduce the supply

* Increasing awareness of the drug and the symptoms of its abuse

Crystal methamphetamine is sold in a variety of forms -- pills,
capsules, powder, chunks -- and under several street names, including
ice, crystal, jib and crank. People can smoke it, shoot it, wrap it in
a cigarette or eat it.

The drug fools the user's brain into believing it has an unlimited
supply of energy. Side effects can include irritability, heart
palpitations, confusion, severe anxiety, paranoia, violence or psychosis.

Long-term use may cause structural changes to the brain, memory loss
and paranoid and delusional thinking, according to the B.C. Health
Services Ministry.

"It literally rots your brain, puts holes in your grey matter," said
Anthony, of the so-called Swiss-cheese effect.

The drug's ingredients draw from sources as diverse as hydrochloric
acid, antihistamines such as Sudafed, matchbooks, paint thinner,
Drano, household cleansers, and lithium batteries.

By the mid-1990s, methamphetamine outsold cocaine in California. It is
now so widespread that American consumers are restricted in the amount
of "precursors" they can buy. For example, there is a limit placed on
the sale of cold and flu medications -- their pseudoephedrine and
ephedrine are extracted in meth labs.

On July 6, the Alberta College of Pharmacists asked all its pharmacies
to voluntarily relocate cold medicines to prevent misuse of
pseudoephedrine and ephedrine.

"This step by the pharmacy profession is in support of law
enforcement's efforts to stem the production of meth," the college
said in a release.

B.C. has no such restrictions. Madoff said such a move would be a
"tremendous help."

"I think you'll be seeing something concrete (soon)," said Brice.

Solicitor General Rich Coleman is looking at a comprehensive, likely
voluntary, plan to curb the production of crystal meth, she said. No
details were available Tuesday.

According to police, drug labs have been set up in everything from a
bathtub to a car trunk. The profit margin is huge for sellers and for
buyers it's a cheap high -- $10 for one-tenth of a gram that would
keep an individual high for eight to 24 hours.

By comparison, the high from the more expensive cocaine is less
intense and lasts about 40 minutes.