FORUM FIGHTS METH ADDICTION

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

Kositsky is chair of the Community Safey Commission, a partnership
between several Langley agencies. The CSC hosted the information
evening in response to an anti-crystal meth initiative designated by
the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General and the Union of
British Columbia Municipalities.

The goal of the initiative is to bring communities together to
identify and raise awareness about drug issues, and find ways to
address them.

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

Rintoul was joined by Langley RCMP Superintendent Janice Armstrong and
Langley School District's Project Resiliency coordinator 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 Langley school district, education is an important key in battling
crystal 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. Recognizing the vulnerabilities within children
that make them susceptible to drug addiction is also important, said
Jackson, who created 2020 Parenting as a resource for those coping
with addiction in their families.

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.

Audience members asked questions about services for adult meth users,
treatment methods, and the need to make funds available to fight the
drug.

The panelists stressed the need to take a multi-disciplinary approach
to fighting meth, and to reassess methods that have been used to cope
with drug addictions for years -- but aren't necessarily working.

"They are not just meth addicts. They are our brothers, our sisters,
and our children," said Davidson.

"The whole system has to be revamped so we can treat them as people."