METH HELP WELCOME, BUT IT'S NOT A BIG PROBLEM HERE

Crystal meth isn't the drug of choice in Fort McMurray, but a new
report aiming to deal with meth addiction in the province may lead to
more drug-treatment services in the region.

The report issued Tuesday by the province's task force on meth is
calling for 100 more detox beds in Alberta to provide short-term
support for addicts to get off drugs. The report singles out Fort
McMurray for more services, something that comes as welcome news to
Ann Hurley, the executive director of Pastew Place, the local detox
centre. "I think the recommendations of the task force were right on
the money," she said.

Currently, Pastew Place has 16 beds available but has funding for
only 10 of them. "We turn people away all the time," Hurley said,
noting the centre is often at full occupancy.

If the province follows through on the recommendations, the centre
would likely be able to open those six other beds, Hurley said. When
that will happen is unclear, though, since Alberta's health minister
has been emphasizing the costs of new beds. While each bed costs
roughly $100,000, Iris Evans said the province has little choice but
to take action. "What's the alternative if you want to get rid of
crystal meth?" she said. "I think we've got a real responsibility to
act on (the report)."

While the report calls for aggressive steps to deal with crystal
meth, locally the drug is a minor problem compared to cocaine. "Crack
is still the big drug of concern here," said Hurley, noting meth is
generally considered the "poor man's crack." In Fort McMurray, where
a lot of people have money, a lot of users can afford to buy cocaine.
In fact, Susan Bottern, the federal prosecutor who handles drug
offences at the Fort McMurray courthouse, strained to think of a meth
case she's handled recently.

Still, while meth isn't the drug of choice here, the problem has been
growing, Hurley said. Coralee Rahn, the area supervisor with the
local Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC) office, said
recent statistics showed five per cent of its clients said they had
used meth in the last year.

One potentially controversial recommendation was a call for people
charged with crimes involving meth "or any other dangerous drug" to
be automatically denied bail and to automatically get jail time if
convicted. "That's always a knee-jerk reaction," Bottern said when
told of the recommendation. "Everybody has a right to apply for
bail," she added.

While the report has gotten a warm reception from those involved in
drug-treatment programs, not everyone thinks it will make much of a
difference. Louis Pagliaro, a professor and expert on substance abuse
at the University of Alberta, heaped scorn on it, calling it a
"Mickey Mouse report." The recommendation for more treatment beds is
meaningless, he said, because the approach to addictions treatment in
Alberta is ineffective, he said. "Essentially, we have zero
treatment beds now in the province because the people who are
treating are generally incompetent."

AADAC, he argued, doesn't hire the specialized psychiatrists and
psychologists needed to treat the most serious drug cases, which
often involve "multi-varied" mental illnesses like anxiety disorders
and depression.

When asked how often he sees people fail at drug treatment through
AADAC's programs, he said he sees it happen every day.