LET'S BE CRYSTAL CLEAR

Awareness Is The Key To Battling Crystal Meth

Cool names and trendy packaging don't change the fact that Crystal
Methamphetamine is destroying lives.

That was the message heard by more than 50 people who attended the
"Let's Be Crystal Clear' forum at Victory Hall in Keremeos Saturday afternoon.

Organized by the South Similkameen Anti-Crystal Meth Initiative, a
committee of the Village of Keremeos, the forum featured two expert
speakers on the subject of Crystal Meth.

Angela Marshall said a recent study of 13,000 students in the Lower
Mainland revealed that eight per cent had used Crystal Meth in the past year.

Marshall, who is a drug and alcohol counsellor in the Fraser Valley,
said communities need to be aware of just what Crystal Meth is.

"Community's need to learn as much as possible so that we can educate
ourselves before people get addicted to Crystal Meth," she said."Once
they are addicted it is too late." Marshall said Crystal Meth is
really only about five years old in B.C.

"The Americans were warning us about this drug, but we so busy with
other drugs that Crystal Meth hit us unprepared," she said.

Like speed in the 1970s and 80s, Crystal Meth is a stimulant, which
is why it is so popular.

"It attracts a lot of people because you can accomplish a lot on it,"
she said, adding that students in both college and high school use it
because it helps them study.

The problem, however, is that Crystal Meth quickly goes from good to
bad, or rather great to horrific.

"It's awesome at first," she said. "But the negative side affects can
start to be seen after the first couple of times using it."

It essentially destroys a person's body. Marshall said people on
Crystal Meth will lose lots of weight, have sores on their face and
hands and their behaviour becomes erratic and can become violent.

"When people come down off Crystal Meth they get very depressed and
physically ill," she said. "It then becomes a cycle. They need the
drug to stay happy, to live their lives." The other problem with
Crystal Meth is that it is easy to make and cheap to buy.

For young people, $10 can get a bunch of them high. Compared to
alcohol or other drugs, Crystal Meth is subtantially cheaper. It can
also be taken in many different forms. Users can smoke it, inject it
or even take a fruit flavoured pill.

"That makes it easy to smuggle into schools," said Marshall, who
added that making Crystal Meth is also very easy.

"You can find the recipe for meth on the internet and all of the
ingredients are legal," she said. "It's very lucrative and profitable."

Another phenomenon happening with Crystal Meth is that it is being
mixed in with other drugs.

Marshall said up to 70 per cent of Ecstasy is laced with Crystal
Meth. Marijuana is also commonly found to have meth mixed into it.

"You can't tell because it is just a powder mixed in," Marshall said.
"People don't know what they are taking so there is a huge risk of overdose."

While still a relativaly new drug, the long-term effects are already
being seen.

"It is causing psychosis and brain damage. People will never be the
same," she said. "It robs you of your happiness. That's why we need
to make people aware about the negative side of this drug."