STOP METH HER MESSAGE

Most people knew Colleen Klein had a soft heart. Who knew it was
accompanied with a spine of steel?

The report on the Premier's Task Force on Crystal Meth, called
Fighting Back, is a marriage of compassion and toughness that just
might work, if even just a fraction of the 83 recommendations are
implemented.

Parents of crystal meth addicts will laud this report -- which is
being officially released today (but was obtained by the Sun
yesterday) -- for its calls to exponentially boost the number of
treatment and post-treatment beds for drug addicts, but so too will
police, if the government actually follows through on what this
61-page report recommends.

Klein, who co-chaired the task force along with Dr. Robert Westbury,
says "the damage meth is doing to young Albertans and to Alberta
communities needs to stop.

"What I learned through our consultations around the province has made
me even more frightened of what this drug can do," said Klein in a
written statement to the Sun.

"Getting tough on the despicable people who make and sell meth will
take the commitment of government, law enforcement and every community
across the province."

Having a public figure actually refer to criminals as "despicable" is
refreshing in the extreme. Usually, in these kinds of reports they're
described as victims of some sort.

"It will take some work and some time, but the alternative is
unacceptable," continued Klein. "We've already lost too many young
lives to this terrible drug and many more lives are at risk if we
don't act now."

But therein lies the downer to the report's high. It's been argued
Premier Ralph Klein has been hanging on to the top job longer than was
perhaps ideal in order to give his wife's task force a chance to
report on its findings after speaking with 645 people clear across
Alberta, as well as to get cracking on implementing some of the
recommendations.

With Ralph's official resignation expected any day now, the question
is: Will any of these proposals ever see the light of day, or will
this report just collect dust as prairie dirt gets kicked up in the
race for Klein's job?

Let's hope not, because much of what is recommended should have been
implemented long ago.

"The Task Force views access to detox, treatment and healing beds as a
critical issue that requires immediate attention," states the report,
which calls for 100 more detox beds and 200 more treatment beds in
both rural and urban communities.

"No child, youth, adult or family should be denied access to
treatment. There should be no financial or capacity barriers to their
treatment. And Alberta should have the capacity to treat people when
they need it."

Lofty goals indeed, considering the wait for treatment runs into the
months and most of the more effective beds are privately run and cost
thousands of dollars to access.

Crystal meth is a highly addictive form of methamphetamine -- or speed
- -- that is mixed with other chemicals which can include Drano,
fertilizer, iodine and battery acid.

Besides more beds, hiring more school addiction counsellors, outlawing
shops that sell drug paraphernalia and setting up a special fund to
pay for the drug battle, the report calls for more funding for police
and urges the feds to consider drug trafficking a "violent crime",
which would boost sentences.

Recommendation 61 calls on the feds to change the law so there is a
"reverse onus" on those charged with possessing "precursors" for a
purpose other than meth production -- perhaps a really clogged toilet.

Staff Sgt. Monty Sparrow of the Calgary Police Service's drug unit
says while crack is the real problem drug in Calgary, there has been a
50% increase in the number of arrests for crystal meth over the past
year to 72 from 52.

But he's eager to get out ahead of this parade and stop it in its
tracks. Sparrow says he likes the ideas contained in the report,
particularly those calling for more funding to establish Drug
Undercover Street Teams (DUST) to work on a regional basis and to
enhance police canine units.

There is no cost estimate in the report -- though to implement
everything would be very expensive. But so, too, are ruined lives and
jail cells. Let's see if the nine people vying for Ralph's job have
the heart and the spine needed for this job.