BATTLE AGAINST METH HERE NOT YET WON

The methamphetamine problem in Oceanside has subsided, although it
hasn't completely gone away.

RCMP Const. Stewart Masi said he has been involved in getting the
message out to teens about how dangerous the drug is.

"A lot of my involvement is in the schools, doing student
presentations on different drugs, and what we are hearing is that
meth is essentially, very much on the outs of popularity," Masi said.
"This, to us, is a very good thing, because it's well documented how
dangerous it is, how awful it is."

Masi said when the meth task force was set up a few years ago, the
drug was considered a much larger problem, but Masi said this appears
to have declined as the true nature of the drug has come clear to
those who are at risk of experimenting with it.

"One of the things I do is show kids what's in meth and all are
pretty horrified. For instance, there's camping fuel. I ask them if
they would pour themselves a glass and take a shot. Then I go into
the awful power of the addiction and how it rots them from the inside
out. The kids don't want to be like that."

Despite the good news, Masi said it's too early to call the battle
entirely won.

"It's still out there. It's on a very small scale though, and we're
thankful for that."