CRYSTAL METH TASK FORCE TO FIGHT THE DRUG IN OSOYOOS & OLIVER

$ 20,000 Initiative To Include Reps From Many Groups

Tamara Aspell says despite what some people believe, the ravages of
crystal meth use aren't just in Vancouver and other Lower Mainland communities.

This devastating drug problem has arrived in the South Okanagan, and
the Oliver mother and counsellor -- along with many others -- is
determined to do something about it.

With funding from the provincial government's major offensive against
the growing use of methamphetamine, Aspell is heading up a $20,000
initiative in Osoyoos and Oliver to create a Crystal Meth Task Force
that will tackle the problem head-on.

The project, proposed in May by the South Okanagan Integrated
Community Services Society, has received its grant of provincial
money under the Methamphetamine Funding Project, administered by the
Union of B.C. Municipalities. The host organization is the
Oliver-based Desert Sun Counselling and Resource Centre, which Aspell
works for. She is now serving as co-ordinator of the Oliver-Osoyoos
anti-meth project.

Aspell says if anyone thinks the lure and harmful effects of cheap,
easy-to-make crystal meth aren't here, she has news for them.

"I think there's a belief that it isn't here yet, or it's still just
a big-city problem. But it is here!" she says. The proposal for the
anti-meth project notes that, at an early age, children in Oliver and
Osoyoos see drug use among transients who come to the area.

At Gyro Beach in Osoyoos a week ago, she watched as a young man
snorted the drug within a few feet of her young children. Aspell gave
him a piece of her mind. And she cites the case of one young local
man who just two months ago made the tough decision to fight his
addiction to crystal meth before the increasing paranoia, psychosis
and harmful physical side-effects killed him (see story on page 22).

Princeton RCMP Sergeant Kurt Lozinski said recently that crystal meth
use has gone up by 500 per cent since 2000.

Under the new project in Oliver and Osoyoos, each of the two towns
has received $10,000 for a joint five-month July-through-November
initiative to establish a broadly based task force that in an ongoing
way during the coming months and years will create awareness,
networking and practical strategies for fighting crystal meth locally.

"The South Okanagan Crystal Meth Task Force will be our communities'
response to the devastating effects of crystal meth abuse," Aspell says.

She notes the drug doesn't just harm the addict. It has ripple
effects throughout the community -- hitting families, friends,
schools, and even business owners.

In the coming weeks, Aspell plans to contact and pull together
representatives of the many groups and agencies involved in the fight
against crystal meth. On August 14 in Osoyoos she will host the
initial meeting of the proposed task force -- with representatives
from the RCMP, paramedics, public health and mental health personnel,
drug and alcohol counsellors, parents, teachers and school trustees,
town councillors, and business people.

She says the aim is "to mobilize community awareness and action". She
hopes the task force will form four committees to focus its action
for the coming months -- an education committee, enforcement
committee, treatment committee, and community development committee.

The task force will be expected to develop crime prevention
initiatives, hold annual awareness campaigns, foster safe
neighbourhoods by working with Citizens on Patrol, and create a
brochure outlining what resources are available to South Okanagan
parents and youth on alcohol and drug issues.

Aspell already plans parent awareness "community forums" in both
Oliver and Osoyoos, to spread the word about the dangers of crystal
meth use and what can be done about it. The sessions would feature
Kerry Jackson, a mother who lost a son at age 26 to the drug, when he
committed suicide.

The local project also plans to hold a contest among youth in both
towns to design a logo for the initiative.

Aspell notes that Osoyoos and Oliver aren't alone. Keremeos, Kelowna
and Penticton are currently carrying out their own projects to fight
crystal meth. And she says Princeton has recently cracked down on
abuse of the drug.

Money for these initiatives comes from $2 million that the B.C.
government directed last November for community-based anti-meth
programs. The government said the Union of B.C. Municipalities would
administer the funding and could provide up to $10,000 to each
community. The government said local initiatives are key, since "they
are closest to the problem and with these grants will be in a better
position to find innovative solutions."

Besides the $2 million in funding for communities, the government
also announced last year that $2 million will go to enhance existing
treatment programs and ensure that professional care is available for
meth-addicted youth, $1 million for a school-based crystal meth
awareness campaign, and $2 million for a broad-based public education
campaign to ensure that youth and their parents are informed about
meth use and addiction.

Aspell is confident that creation of a task force in Oliver and
Osoyoos will help young people here avoid or overcome the devastating
effects of addiction to crystal meth. She notes that the co-ordinator
of a similar initiative in Oceanside, on Vancouver Island, says that
community "has been changed forever" by the success of their project.

Local Crystal Meth Addict Tells His Story

- -- It was easy to fall into the self-destructive trap of abusing the
latest 'popular' drug --

Think the nightmare of crystal meth addiction can't happen to Osoyoos
and Oliver men and women? Think again. The drug is easy to make from
products like ephedrine, lacquer thinner, antifreeze, Drano, acetone,
naptha fuel, muriatic acid, and lye. It is extremely addictive,
provides an energetic 'high', and leads to devastating damage to mind
and body, including psychosis and paranoia. Here is the story of a
26-year-old Oliver man now working in Osoyoos. At his request he
remains anonymous.

I got into crystal meth last August. I was in school in another
province. I experienced some bad personal issues and became depressed
and almost suicidal. At the same time I had long hours of school and
work every day.

I started to use crystal meth to elevate my mood and get through
work. I was self-medicating. I used it to help get me through
classes, to keep going and get the work done. But it started to ruin
my life. Some people end up turning to crime, but I kept my job.

It took a toll on my body. You don't sleep for days on end, but you
feel like you're on Cloud 9. You feel great on the outside, but
inside your body is rotting out. Sometimes you don't go to the
bathroom for days. You're getting no nutrition and your body's
metabolism is super-fast.

You build up a tolerance to the drug and start to use more and more.

I started to lose a bit of my grip on reality. At work I started to
feel the cravings for the drug coming on. I was using heavily. People
using lose their perception of priorities -- for example, their job
versus stealing.

People can keep their crystal meth use secret. Friends and family
often never know.

I started seeing things and hearing things, and experiencing paranoia
and anxiety. At one point I just couldn't stay in a bar any longer
with my friends. I had to go outside. I felt a panic attack coming
on; I was sweating and thought I was going to die. I went home and
curled up into a ball.

The next day I called my parents and said I had to come home. That
was in May and I no longer have the craving for crystal meth.

I'm afraid college students and obese people will really start using
it. You have lots of energy, and people can lose weight on it. It
really gives people a distorted sense of accomplishment, but what are
you giving up to get that accomplishment?

You're going to see more people developing schizophrenia from it.
There is sleep deprivation, for example.

Crystal meth is the new rising drug of the 21st century. People are
so blind. They don't think it's happening in the schools or the
workplace, but it is.

It's scary if parents aren't aware of how messed up their kids are
getting from it. I really hope parents sit up and take notice.