METH FORUM GETS UNPRECEDENTED ATTENDANCE

Area residents packed into Lakes District Senior Secondary last
Monday for a special presentation on crystal methamphetamine.

Keynote speaker, drug and alcohol councilor Angela Marshall, urged
Burns Lake to be especially vigilant in reporting suspected meth labs
and dealers, noting rural communities are favored for meth production.

"It's perfect. Making meth produces a strong odour, so ideally you
would want to set up your lab away from large populations, and nosey
neighbors."

Marshall, who has delivered meth awareness presentations to audiences
world wide, including to the United Nations, added that labs are also
very simple to build.

"Anyone in the community can have a lab up and running in a day.
Everything you need is already here."

Burns Lake RCMP says they have not had any reports of meth labs in
the area, but a Meth Watch Program is in place with local pharmacists
and hardware retailers.

The key ingredient in meth is pseudoephedrine, a common
pharmaceutical found in cold medicines. It accounts for 50 per cent
of a meth recipe. The other half consists of highly corrosive and
toxic chemicals ranging from industrial solvents to household cleaners.

"When these labs explode," said Marshal, "they can take out a whole
block."

Meth prevention and education recently placed high on the RCMP's list
of priorities for 2006, due to what they say is an aggressive push by
dealers to hook users of other drugs considered less dangerous.

"They're lacing meth into [marijuana] joints without telling the
victim, said Burns Lake RCMP Staff Sergeant Brad Handoga. "They're
also disguising it with food coloring and passing it off as ecstacy.
These are just two examples."

Former meth user, Hayden Schmidt shared his experiences with the
forum audience, underscoring the loneliness and isolation of addiction.

"You can't function with other people because you're angry,
irritable, anti social. You see things that aren't there."

"I can feel the effects of getting high just by sitting here
listening to people talk about it. I've been clean for six months, so
where does this desire to get high come from? It's something I'll
feel for the rest of my life."

By several indicators, meth use is on the rise. Orders from cold
medicine manufactures account for only 30,000 of the 70,000 units
that legally enter the country every year.

Marshall praised Burns Lake for making what she called an
unprecedented showing of support from a community this size.

Event organizer, RCMP Cst. J.A. Wilkinson scrambled to find chairs
for the audience as it swelled beyond the expected turnout of 50 or
60 residents. In the end, approximately 300 people attended the
forum, with some figures estimated as high as 400, an equal turnout
to a similar forum held recently in Prince George.

"The fact that Burns Lake had as much attendance as Prince George, is
a credit to the community's commitment in keeping meth out of our
community and out of our schools."

LDSS students Breanne West and Genelle West, who attended the event
with their mother, said they haven't witnessed any hype surrounding
meth use among students, nor have they seen it in the school, but
they do feel that parents and administrators are right to be concerned.

"I don't think Meth is a problem, but it could be," says Breanne
West. "So education is always important, especially when you're
dealing with something like this. "

Cst. Wilkinson received requests for meth awareness presentations in
communities outside the Burns Lake area, which he says the detachment
will gladly facilitate.