METH HOT TOPIC AT UBCM

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 hall 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.

McDaniel also pressed for even 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, which requires all hardware stores to require identification
and collect names of customers who buy meth components.

"British Columbia does not have that," he said.

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

The meth session came on the heels of an announcement by the province
that 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.

Public safety ministry spokesman Mark Tatchell called the money
committed a significant step in addressing the problem.

But Mark McLaughlin, one of the organizers 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.

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

View Royal Coun. Andrew Britton, also 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 affordable housing.

Some delegates urged cabinet ministers to consider measures to hoist
youth 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 added that crystal meth addicts must
want to get off the drug, adding 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 vigorous enforcement of unsightly premises bylaws if there are
upkeep problems.

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