CITIES CALL FOR MORE ACTION ON METH

VICTORIA -- Tougher sentencing of crystal meth lab operators and more
intrusive measures to catch them when they buy precursor chemicals
are urgently needed, delegates to the Union of B.C. Municipalities
convention heard Wednesday.

Terrace Coun. Rich McDaniel said a meth lab was busted within 300
metres of both Terrace City Hll and the RCMP detachment, but its
operators were sentenced this month to probation only.

"They didn't even get a damn fine," he told a crystal meth strategies forum.

"There's no deterrent."

McDaniel pressed for earlier efforts to bring anti-drug messaging to
elementary school children.

"Grade 4 is the time to reach them," he said, adding waiting until
Grade 6 is too late.

Sparwood Mayor David Wilks said B.C. should follow the lead of
Montana, where all hardware stores must require identification and
collect names of customers who buy meth components.

A registration system for consumers would go far beyond the existing
Meth Watch program used in some B.C. cities, where retailers
voluntarily watch for large-scale buying of precursors and alert
police if they see it.

The meth session came on the heels of an announcement by the province
another $3 million will be spent on school-focused programs to battle
meth. A year earlier, Victoria unveiled a $7 million plan to combat
meth addiction.

But Mark McLaughlin, an organizer of Victoria's crystal meth task
force, said the province hasn't yet rolled out its promised programs
in the schools.

"September has come and gone and we have yet to see it," he said.

"Every day that goes by without kids getting this important
information is another day a child runs the risk of being exposed to
crystal meth."

McLaughlin said the province has made a start, but must do more.

View Royal Coun. Andrew Britton, a paramedic, put much of the meth
abuse epidemic at the feet of the province, saying it can be traced
to Victoria's track record on handling the mentally ill, and in
cutting back health care, homeless shelters and low-cost housing.

Some delegates urged cabinet ministers to consider measures to pull
young addicts off the street for a mandatory five days of detox.

But Attorney-General Wally Oppal said that would likely violate
constitutional protections.

Public safety minister John Les said crystal meth addicts must want
to get off the drug, and evidence shows forced treatment doesn't work.

Les rejected suggestions from Kamloops council that cities need more
power to crack down on drug houses. He said plenty of tools exist
that towns may not adequately use, such as enforcement of unsightly
premises bylaws.

Les called a suspected drug house in Kamloops an "ideal candidate"
for that treatment based on a photo he was shown.