CRANKING UP WAR ON SPEED

RCMP Get Crash Course On Meth

It's only a matter of time before crystal meth becomes a serious
problem in Atlantic Canada, an investigator with the RCMP's synthetic
drug division said Wednesday.

In fact, Const. Paul Robinson said, the drug has almost certainly
already reached Nova Scotia, although police have yet to locate any
labs.

"I would say the intelligence exists that would lead me to believe
that there are meth labs in the province . . . although we haven't
really seen or made any legitimate or bona fide crystal meth
seizures," Const. Robinson said in an interview at the Cole Harbour
RCMP detachment.

On Wednesday night, he briefed a group of about 15 Halifax RCMP
auxiliaries on crystal methamphetamine, also known on the street as
ice, crank or speed.

He talked about how the drug is made, where the ingredients can be
found, how to spot a meth "cook" and the warning signs that a lab may
be operating under their noses.

The most important thing to remember, Const. Robinson told them, is
that you can't make meth without pseudoephedrine or ephedrine, most
commonly found in cold medications like Sudafed Decongestant.

"What I can't stress enough is you have to have that one thing, and if
you don't have that, you can't do anything about it," he said. "You
just can't make meth without it."

The information session came two days after legislation was passed
making it mandatory for cold medications with such ingredients to be
removed from store shelves and kept behind the counter.

Const. Robinson said this is "a step in the right direction" but he
doesn't think it will be enough to stop the drug from becoming
mainstream on the East Coast.

"You've got to be harassing them or interject or challenge someone,
like, 'Do you really want to buy this?' " he said of pharmacists. "If
a few people can do that, it might deter someone from making it."

During his hour-long talk, the officer also ran down some of the
telltale signs of a meth addict, explaining that such people often
develop psychiatric problems from using the drug.

He said many are extremely thin and have poor hygiene, including
rotting teeth, because meth blocks the production of calcium. Most are
covered in sores from where they've picked apart their skin trying to
rid themselves of "meth bugs."

Crystal meth made its first appearance in Canada years ago in British
Columbia and quickly spread to the Prairie provinces, Const. Robinson
said. The problem is growing in Ontario and Quebec, where police have
busted as many as 30 meth labs of varying size, he said.

Clandestine labs, used to create drugs such as meth, GHB and ecstasy,
are difficult to detect, especially on a small scale, he said. That
has slowed police progress in the Atlantic region.

In many of the cases across Canada, he said, labs are discovered by
accident.

"Seventy to 80 per cent of labs are found by first responders, it's
not the result of an investigation," he said. "That's what makes it so
tricky.

"It's a new way of doing business for firemen, for EHS, for uniformed
police members because they're the first ones who are going to find a
meth lab, statistically."