METH AWARE CAMPAIGN PAYING OFF

A community effort to take crystal methamphetamine off Squamish
streets has made major headway in the last two years, according to
organizers behind local meth awareness campaigns.

At a Squamish Networking Breakfast Club meeting on Tuesday (Oct. 23)
Leanna Buffie, prevention worker for Sea to Sky Community Services
talked about the town's steps forward since a high profile meth
awareness forum in 2005 shed light on the town's drug problems. "We
have increased the drug team significantly," she said, noting there is
now a youth counsellor along with two clinical addiction counsellors
in Squamish.

Local problems with meth gained major attention in May 2005, when the
Breakfast Club held a meth awareness forum. At the time, speaker
Denise Evans of Sea to Sky Community Services estimated 500 to 700
people in Squamish are meth users.

"Trust me, there is a huge drug problem in Squamish," Evans said at
the time. "There's also a huge cocaine problem."

At Tuesday's meeting, RCMP community liaison officer Jennifer Foulon
said only about three to five per cent of people picked up by police
are using meth.

Although Foulon did not provide actual numbers, local police have
processed 662 prisoners to date in 2007.

Foulon said users tend to have erratic behaviour along with a pale,
thin appearance and poor complexion.

"They're very hard to deal with as a police officer because you don't
know what they're going to do."

Foulon also assured the group of about 50 that there is no known meth
production going on in town.

"We're not busting any meth labs in Squamish."

She said the meth in town comes from super labs where mass amounts are
produced and distributed. Using a chart outlining substance use among
youth, prevention workers showed alcohol, marijuana, tobacco and
ecstasy were all tried more frequently than meth. The chart did not
make mention the use of cocaine.

One community member who attended the session was pleasantly surprised
by the information.

"I thought meth was a big problem in Squamish. It's good news," he
said.

But in many ways, drug use in town has gotten worse. Foulon said
current drug trends show youth are using drugs at a younger age and
experimenting with a larger variety.

She also said ecstasy pills are changing to contain higher levels of
meth. At Tuesday's event, presenters focused on curbing gateway
substances such as marijuana and alcohol.

"If we can prevent the alcohol, tobacco and pot from happening then
maybe we can prevent the other things," said Buffie. She said 94 per
cent of youth who used alcohol and tobacco had also smoked pot, noting
how drugs perceived to be softer could lead to a more serious problem
over time.

Foulon also emphasized that the potency of pot has increased in the
past 30 years, making it a more dangerous drug than some people
realize. "THC levels have changed so much, it's not the same drug."

She cited recent studies linking marijuana to psychosis and other
mental illnesses. The message is making its way to local kids through
a Drug Abuse Resistance Education program (DARE), which is presented
over 10-weeks to Grade 5 students in Squamish.

The Breakfast Club presented two cheques at the event, giving $1000 to
the Howe Sound East Fire Protection Association. They donated another
$1000 to Big Brothers and Big Sisters for the group's own Breakfast
Club, which helps local students get a nutritious meal before the
school day begins.