METH A PROBLEM? YES, BUT SO IS BOOZE

By now we all know crystal meth is a menace to society, or at least
it will become one if we don't start listening and watching what is
unfolding in the United States.

The current Premier's Task Force on Crystal Meth has the advantage of
looking elsewhere to aid its recommendations when the final report
comes out in September.

Yes, there has been some trouble spots in Alberta -- Drayton Valley,
Edson and Hinton -- but nothing like the epidemic that has hit the
American states of Colorado, California and the state of Washington.

The task force also has the good fortune of riding on the coattails
of initiatives made by the Alberta College of Pharmacists.

In 2004, the college announced pharmacies across the province were
voluntarily restricting access to ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, two
of the main ingredients used to produce crystal meth.

The Alberta government then followed that lead last December with an
order-in-council that requires all single-entity pseudoephedrine
products be moved behind the counter or in the dispensaries of
pharmacies across the province.

This is good news, and of course proactive on the part of the
college. The provincial government, to give it credit, is moving on
meth before an epidemic takes hold. That's more good news.

But one has to wonder whether the Tories have once again put their
blinders on when it comes to an even bigger problem -- alcohol addiction.

David Horricks, executive director of Parkland Youth Homes in Red
Deer, said his organization is certainly aware of the growing crystal
meth threat but added it should be put in perspective when one looks
at the longstanding problems created by alcohol.

"Crystal meth proportionate to alcohol abuse is a drop in the
bucket," said Horricks, whose organization's mandate is to provide
treatment services -- including residential -- for troubled young people.

"I think we have missed the point by not paying attention to that
(alcohol) as society's fundamental problem."

The statistics would certainly support Horricks' concern.

The Canadian Addiction Survey, released by Health Canada in 2004,
showed that 20.2% of 13,909 respondents nation-wide admitted to heavy
monthly drinking. That was up slightly in Alberta where 21% of 2,401
survey respondents admitted to heavy monthly drinking.

As well, 32.7% of respondents said they had been harmed by alcohol
drinkers over the previous year.

The survey did not specifically mention crystal meth, which is not
surprising because government agencies and social service groups are
now only beginning to study meth in a separate category of its own.

However, the survey polled Canadians on ecstasy, which Alberta RCMP
now says is laced with up to 75% meth. Only 4.1% of Canadians
participating in the survey said they had used ecstasy. It went up to
5.1% in Alberta.

It must be kept in mind that meth users tend to be highly secretive
and paranoid. Last week, at the provincial task force's Red Deer
meeting, some teens who had past experiences with meth said many
young people opt not to tell the truth about meth use in surveys
because they fear repercussions if their personal drug history gets
in the wrong hands.

As well, the meth sub-culture tends to live in shadows, and
extracting any reliable statistical data on them and their using
patterns presents a huge challenge.

However, the Canadian Addiction Survey figures are still staggering,
and even with more reliable meth figures, alcohol would still
undoubtedly be the number one addiction issue by a wide margin in
Canada and Alberta.

Meanwhile, Horricks also believes that many people have an erroneous
notion that marijuana is the "gateway" drug to harder illegal substances.

"You don't try crystal meth from pot," he said. "You try crystal meth
from being drunk and stupid."

There is no doubt the Alberta government is fully aware of the
ongoing surveys that clearly show alcohol to be an ongoing serious
social problem.

But then again there is a lot of revenue to be made with vices in
this province. In fact billions of dollars worth, thanks to booze and gambling.

If we move too harshly against alcohol, like governments did in the
prohibition years, we'd rip out a huge piston from the province's
great big economic engine.

It can't even be contemplated that any government in this country
would dare implement drastic measures on alcohol, despite ongoing
horrendous numbers of road fatalities, assaults, murders, and
domestic violence cases.

We are destined to just suck it up, and focus our attention on
something that is easy to become enraged about -- crystal meth.

Yes, that rage is justified. Meth addiction is serious, serious
business, and it has to be addressed.

But if the provincial government is going to paint itself as the good
guys on a war against crystal meth, it makes sense they at least give
more than just lip service to alcohol addiction.

These damn surveys can't always be wrong, or ignored.

The Jonathan Clatter Award of Merit:

To Barry Litun, deputy superintendent of Red Deer Public Schools.
Litun has just been appointed the new Superintendent of Schools for
the Lethbridge Public School District No. 51.

He starts his new job in August.

Litun has been hugely popular with school kids in Red Deer. Before
his deputy superintendent appointment locally three years ago, he was
at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School for 10 years as
principal and vice principle.

"Our own children have grown up during the time we have spent in Red
Deer, and their current and future successes will always be traced
back to the guidance and opportunities they were afforded in the
public school system and in the community," said Litun.

Always a supremely classy guy, Litun will certainly be missed by
many, many people in Red Deer. Best of luck Barry.