NEW DRUG TO HIT 'LIKE A MACK TRUCK'

Conference Prepares Police for Meth Boom

Growing concern that Calgary could become a centre for the production
and export of a dangerous narcotic commonly known as crystal meth has
prompted local police officials to stage an international conference
on the subject.

"Methamphetamine is going to hit us like a Mack truck," Calgary police
Det. Pat Tetley said.

The narcotic is considered to be the drug of choice in a number of
American states and is responsible for a significant amount of crime,
according to U.S. authorities.

"It's already here (in Calgary) in limited amounts, but as the addicts
get into it, meth is going to make base cocaine look like a walk in
the park," said Tetley.

Meth is a central nervous system stimulant. Its chemical properties
are similar to cocaine, but the effects are more intense and last
substantially longer.

The Calgary Police Service will host an international conference Aug.
11-15, to train first-response officers to detect and shut down
clandestine methamphetamine laboratories.

More than 500 law-enforcement officers from as far away as Ireland and
Australia will attend the conference to discuss the best way to combat
the drug commonly known as meth.

"I lobbied to bring this conference here because not everyone can
travel all over the world to attend," said Tetley of the city's drug
unit.

"It's never been in Canada and I wanted Canadian first responders to
be able to learn how to properly deal with the dangers associated with
this drug."

Many of the key ingredients used to produce methamphetamine, such as
pseudoephedrine (PSE), are widely available in Canada and are being
smuggled into the United States. A joint intelligence report recently
published by the RCMP and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
detailed several cases where millions of PSE tablets bought in Canada
were seized by U.S. law-enforcement officials.

Ottawa introduced regulations to limit the production and export of
some of these ingredients on Jan. 9. But there are increasing concerns
that methamphetamine traffickers are simply choosing to produce the
drug here.

Officials are not only concerned about methamphetamine's addictive
qualities, but about the violence it generates in users.

According to the U.S. National Drug Intelligence Center, the
production, distribution and abuse of methamphetamine is more commonly
associated with violent crime than any other drug. In the past five
years, states in the Pacific Northwest have hosted some of the most
fevered meth production increases in the United States.

In 1998, law-enforcement officials in Washington state busted 176 meth
production laboratories -- each with enough chemicals and ingredients
to blow up a house. By 2001, that number had ballooned to 1,477 -- the
third most in the country. Those types of increases have southern
Alberta law-enforcement and drug-prevention groups worried.

"We're hoping we're wrong and it doesn't happen, but we're preparing
for the worst," said Dr. Debra McDougall, clinical supervisor for the
Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission. "Adolescents are especially
susceptible. If they can get their hands on it, they'll take it."

According to statistics collected by AADAC, nearly 10 per cent of its
15,000 adult patients admitted to using methamphetamine in 2002 -- a
substantial increase over the negligible numbers from the year before.

"History shows we follow the same cycle as California, but with a
10-year delay," said Tetley. "Cocaine was the hard drug of choice
there, as it is here now, until the addicts realized meth was cheaper,
it lasted longer and they could cook it themselves."

Clandestine laboratories can be difficult to detect because they can
operate out of a space as small as the trunk of a car. Tetley said by
being alert and educated, residents can help prevent methamphetamine
from entering their neighbourhoods.

"This drug is a chemical time bomb," he said. "But being aware is a
community's best form of protection."

Methamphetamine Detection Methods

Some hints that methamphetamine is being produced at a house in your
neighbourhood:

- - They get frequent late-night visits;

- - Smell of toxins evident;

- - Extensive security; and

- - Numerous bottles and containers in the trash.