GOOD TURNOUT HELPS LAUNCH CRYSTAL METH TASK FORCE

- -- Many Task Force Activities Planned --

The battle against crystal meth in Osoyoos and Oliver has begun -
and it has started with a bang.

Forty-eight people attended an August 17th meeting in Osoyoos to form
the new South Okanagan Crystal Meth Task Force, a number that
delighted the initiative's co-ordinator, Tamara Aspell.

The meeting heard support from representatives of the two towns as
well as a variety of agencies, including the RCMP. Osoyoos Mayor John
Slater told the group he is pleased to see the two towns working
together on this important initiative.

Aspell, employed with Desert Sun Counselling in Oliver, heads up the
new $20,000 South Okanagan crystal meth project funded by provincial
money under the Methamphetamine Funding Project administered by the
Union of B.C. Municipalities. Oliver and Osoyoos each received $10,000
and the two towns are working together in a joint fight against the
drug.

The project's goal is to work from July through November to get the
ongoing crystal meth task force up and running. Aspell wants it to
have broad community representation, including from the police,
paramedics, public health and mental health personnel, drug and
alcohol counsellors, parents, teachers, school trustees, town
councillors, and business people.

In her opening remarks to the crowd at the task force's inaugural
meeting, Aspell said its objective will be "to reduce and prevent the
effects of crystal meth use, through a grassroots community effort -
including education, prevention and community development."

She said she sees the task force as a team that will meet bimonthly to
work on a variety of strategies - and she stressed that it will be
up to the members of the task force to shape exactly what they want to
do and how they want to do it.

She showed the group a powerful video about how crystal meth affects
the lives of addicts in downtown Vancouver.

The new commander of the Osoyoos-Oliver RCMP detachment, Kurt
Lozinski, specializes in drug enforcement and education, and he said
he will be very supportive of the task force. He said drug enforcement
will now be a priority of the local RCMP office.

Lozinski is moving to the area from Princeton and says, "I am hoping
we can have the same success in Oliver and Osoyoos as we've had in
Princeton." He has involved many people from the community there in
drug enforcement and has achieved a great deal.

He said the crystal meth definitely exists in the two South Okanagan
towns, and in fact, "a lot of the Princeton addicts are getting their
drug directly from Osoyoos".

Lozinski gave the task force audience a close-up look at the problem.
He passed around plastic bags containing crystal meth so people could
see what it looks like.

He stressed that with crystal meth being relatively cheap and easy to
make, the problem is growing - and the drug seriously hurts users
both physically and mentally, and it leads to more crime in the community.

It causes an extreme 'high' and the more people take, the more they
want. Users can go on three-or four-day binges. After using for
awhile, they develop open sores on their bodies, body odour, weight
loss, teeth problems, acne, dry mouth, itching, increased heart rate,
insomnia, high pain thresholds, and extreme paranoia.

Lozinski said there are only a couple of houses in Oliver and Osoyoos
that the RCMP has identified as crystal meth labs, since most local
users bring the drug into the community from elsewhere. Nevertheless,
he believes local governments should pass bylaws requiring homeowners
who rent their houses to check on them regularly. He also encourages
parents to keep their lines of communication open with their children,
and to do periodic spot checks of their rooms.

The head of North Vancouver's Crystal Meth Task Force brought
greetings and support to the South Okanagan meeting. Peter Defer, who
also works for the Salvation Army, says about three years ago the
organization began to see "a sea change" in the type of clients coming
in the door - "more volatile and hostile" - and it was because of
crystal meth.

Defer, who also had a career in law enforcement, says, "In all my
years on the front lines, I have never seen a drug as devastating and
all-consuming as this one." He told the meeting he fully supports the
new local task force.

"We can't stop the flow of this drug - it's way too big - but the
thing we can really do is educate," he said.

One young man at the meeting said he thinks the task force initiative
is misguided and won't deal with the real, personal causes that drive
young people to use drugs. But Defer said the task force is "somewhere
to start" in the fight against crystal meth, and he invited the man to
take part and help to shape the new project's work.

Aspell said plans are already underway for the task force to carry out
work on all three of its "pillars" - education, prevention and
community development.

Potential projects include pamphlets, news media coverage, posters, a
website, promoting local bylaws and co-ordination of law enforcement,
communicating lists of resource materials and agencies, developing
parent support groups, and supporting recreation programs for youth.
There will also be a logo contest for a 'look' for the new task force,
with young people invited to submit designs.

"The role and activities of the task force will evolve, and they will
be up to the people and the communities involved," Aspell told the
meeting.

She said the next meeting of the new group will be held September 18,
likely in Oliver.