CRYSTAL METH STRATEGIES DISCUSSED

Members of the community joined politicians, police officers, and
experts at a special forum on crystal meth Wednesday.

Crystal meth is not a policing problem. It is not a parenting
problem. It is a community problem.

And the community will have to work together to prevent the drug from
ruining lives and taking a further toll on Langley, the forum was told.

"The key to building safer communities is working together," said
Langley Township Councilor Mel Kositsky, who helped organize the
forum, held at the Township of Langley's Civic Facility on Wednesday, June 28.

Kositsky is chair of the Community Safety Commission, a partnership
between several Langley agencies. The CSC hosted the information
evening in response to an anti-crystal meth initiative designated by
the provincial government and the Union of B.C. Municipalities.

"The only way we can do this is locally, with everybody in the
community working together," said Sgt. Scott Rintoul, acting
provincial co-ordinator of the RCMP's Drug and Organized Crime
Awareness Service.

Rintoul was joined by Langley RCMP Supt. Janice Armstrong and Langley
School District's Project Resiliency co-ordinator Barry MacDonald at
the event, which featured a viewing of the Cold As Ice, a crystal
meth prevention DVD that was produced by Kevin Letourneau of Peace
Arch Community Services.

Speakers at the forum detailed the effects the drug is having on the
community, as its use devastates families, its production threatens
public safety, and those who are addicted turn to lives of crime and
violence to get their fixes.

Meth, which is powerful, highly addictive, and inexpensive, is
popular for the feelings of confidence, energy, and well-being it
produces -- a feeling that is replaced by depression, aggression, and
delusions.

It is a man-made drug created solely from chemicals, and as Rintoul
noted, those who take meth are essentially ingesting ingredients like
brake fluid and paint thinner.

Crystal meth takes a horrible toll on the body and the mind, he said,
as users become paranoid and spiral into a pattern of erratic
behaviour that makes them unrecognizable to their loved ones.
Physically, addicts can lose their teeth, and their skin erupts into sores.

Users and those who around them aren't the only ones who suffer from
crystal meth's consequences, Rintoul said. The drug's negative effect
is being felt in the community through an increase in crime, soaring
emergency response costs, increased health care costs, loss of
business, the need for more social services, a rise in organized
crime, and the creation of public fear.

"Crystal meth is an ugly, ugly drug," Rintoul said, a sentiment that
was reflected in Letourneau's video, which features Langley police
officers, firefighters, and users, who share their stories about meth
and the challenges involved in fighting it.

For the Langley School District, education is an important key in
battling the drug.

According to MacDonald, Project Resiliency was developed to target
children at a young age, before they start experimenting with
substances: "We can't scare kids," he said. "We need to give them
accurate information that's realistic and relevant."

The forum also featured a presentation by Kerry Jackson, a mother who
lost her son to crystal meth. Jackson shared her story with the
audience, and stressed the need for parents to seek professional help
and support from the community at the first sign of trouble.

"We have to act sooner -- way sooner, and not wait until we are in
crisis," she said.

Following her presentation, Jackson joined a discussion panel which
included Rintoul, Letourneau, Langley MP Mark Warawa, Langley MLA
Mary Polak, Langley Youth and Family Services counselor Lee Davidson,
Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce past president Bev Dornan, and
substance abuse program instructor Harald Urstad of the University
College of the Fraser Valley.