Crystal Meth Seen in Schools

DRUG FORUM DRAWS LARGE CROWD

A nearly-packed gymnasium audience in Ste Anne Thursday night heard
how the consequences of ignoring an impending crystal meth scourge
could be disastrous.

"Crack cocaine has brought with it many deaths, destruction of
families, and a lot of crime...what crack cocaine has already done,
meth is going to do tenfold," predicted Dale Ridley, a guest speaker
at the Ste Anne crystal meth forum.

The event was organized by Ecole Pointe-des-Chenes parent committee
chairwoman Nicole Massicotte and hosted by principal Raynald Dupuis.

Ridley--a recently retired 26-year-veteran of the Winnipeg Police
Service and a Ste Anne parent--spent 13 years with the Drug Unit
department and shared his insight and stories gleaned during that time.

After describing what methamphetamine, or meth, is (ephedrine or
pseudoephedrine slightly molecularly altered), Ridley emphasized no
one should make the mistake of thinking the man-made drug is an urban problem.

"States like Missouri, Iowa, where there are many farming
communities, are seeing their youth destroyed by this drug," he
noted, also recalling working on a case with law enforcement
officials in Fargo, ND. about six years ago.

"At that time, they told me that at least 85 percent of their drug
work was because of meth."

Meth labs are notoriously volatile, he noted, because a "cook" using
the (most commonly used) burning red phosphorus method can easily
become a highly explosive situation.

Makeshift Meth Lab

When Ridley and his fellow officers attended a home on Valour Road in
Winnipeg being used as a makeshift meth lab, the drug dealer was in
the middle of a cook.

"Had the ethyl ether found near the heat source ignited, it would
have been enough force to take out four houses, if it had exploded,"
Ridley pointed out.

He also explained why meth is so attractive to drug dealers and addicts.

Since many natural or plant-derived substances like cocaine have to
be imported, there's a far greater risk of the dealer getting caught,
whereas anyone can buy what they need to make meth anywhere in North America.

One of the reasons youth find crystal meth so attractive is
price--$10 gets them one 'point' of crystal meth, about a quarter of
the price of a comparable amount of crack cocaine. And the high lasts
more than four times longer--between eight to 12 hours.

But the devastatingly downside of the drug was driven home by Carole
Johnson of Winnipeg, who shared her harrowing journey as the mother
of a crystal meth addict who died at age 17.

Her daughter Colleen was a soccer star, an honor student and a
beautiful, sweet-natured, loving girl, Johnson told the hushed
audience of hundreds.

In fact, Colleen's friends loved her so much they just finished
making a homemade scrapbook for her 19th birthday said Johnson,
holding up the photo book and reading some touching tributes to the teen.

While Johnson noted that her child did not die of her crystal meth
addiction specifically, rather a car crash, she died because of her
addiction. "She was with her drug dealer, (she) would have never been
in that car otherwise."

'Very Violent Death'

However, Johnson noted that before Colleen's "very violent death"
came years of "absolute hell" for the whole family.

Colleen's grades plummeted and she disappeared for days on end,
leaving her family sick with worry filing numerous missing persons
reports. Most of the time, she was hanging out with her fellow
junkies at Winnipeg's Central Park.

Johnson said Colleen was developing sores on her skin, typical for
meth addicts who experience the sensation of bugs crawling under their skin.

"Meth addicts will pick these scabs off and eat the scabs, because
there is meth in them and they want to get the meth back into their
bodies," Johnson explained to gasps of disgust from the audience
while others squirmed in their seats.

Building on crystal meth attractions described by Ridley, Johnson
said dealers are resorting to insidious methods to peddle the drug to
girls--they pitch it as a weight-loss method.

But the Winnipeg mother, who works at the University of Manitoba,
said the evening was also a time to celebrate a small victory in the
war on drugs.

"My prayers have been answered, as a new law has just been passed. .
.that allows parents to bring their children to detox for five days."
In her view, "five days is still not enough, but it's a start," she noted.

Acting Ste Anne Police Chief Brian Brunelle emphasized drugs are the
reason for the increase in local crime people "hear on the radio, or
read about in The Carillon."

"The break, enter and thefts, armed robberies--those crimes are
drug-related and keeping police in southeastern Manitoba very busy."

Crystal meth definitely has a presence in Ste Anne, and it is in Ste
Anne's schools, said Brunelle, adding all parents should be concerned
based on conversations he's had with high school students.

"In the schools, marijuana is passe; students have moved on to the
harder drugs. Teens want the 'in-thing'," the police constable warned.

All the guest speakers, including AFM prevention and education
consultant Roxanne Sarrasin, offered advice and suggestions on what
can be done.

Parent-child communication came up the most frequently as one of the
best drug prevention methods. Ridley even told parents they shouldn't
afraid to search a sock drawer or two when they come across something
suspicious.

"Parents, you've got to be curious. Get into their things. Let them
know you're not going to let them get away with it...teenagers can be
a pain, but they're worth it and they've got to know we care."

Last week, La Broquerie's Ecole St Joachim hosted a community crystal
meth evening that also capped off a day of health-related activities
at the French language school.

The Rosenort PTA is sponsoring an evening on crystal meth on Monday
(March 20). It begins at 7 p.m. in the Rosenort School gym.

One of the featured speakers at the Rosenort crystal meth forum will
be Carole Johnson.

Niverville has scheduled a crystal meth forum for Thursday, April 20
at the Niverville Heritage Centre. Door open at 7 p.m.

Similar forums were held late last year in Steinbach and in January
at St Pierre-Jolys.