SOLICITOR-GENERAL PROMISES AID IN FIGHT AGAINST CRYSTAL METH EPIDEMIC

It's evil.

Solicitor-General John Les didn't pussyfoot around Thursday night at a
government-sponsored Crystal Meth Community Forum at the Filberg
Centre ballroom.

Despite drawing a smallish crowd, Les and a team of special guests
outlined the dangers crystal meth posed to communities in B.C., part
of a provincewide campaign to educate the public on both the dangers
posed by the drug and the efforts of the government to combat it. Les
said crystal meth sneaks up on communities, just as it sneaks up on
families, not taking long to do immeasurable physical damage. "It is a
uniquely destructive drug," he said, "and it tears me apart to see
14-, 15-, 16-year-olds using and foreclosing their future."

Told that the Comox Valley had yet to be seriously impacted by the
meth epidemic, Les warned parents and authorities to be on guard,
suggesting that only a community-based education campaign would keep
meth at bay.

The solicitor-general said several steps are needed to deal with the
growing problem, primarily in recognizing the problem and enlisting
the aid of the federal government in halting the supply of meth's
ingredients.

'We need an integrated and coordinated approach," he said, pointing to
his government's Crystal Meth Secretariat as a positive step.

The Crystal Meth Secretariat was established under the
solicitor-general to work with all aspects of government to coordinate
the crystal meth fight and help communities look at strategies they
can use. The aim is to create an informed public, safer communities
and a responsive service system that identifies high-risk groups and
reduces harm to both individuals and communities.

Les said the province is already providing $1 billion annually towards
mental health and addiction assistance from the total health budget of
$12 billion and that a growing portion of that amount is allocated to
dealing with crystal meth addiction.

"But the province cannot do this alone," he said, calling on the
federal government to take action against importers of drugs such as
ephedrine or pseudo-ephedrine, a major component of meth.

Ephedrine is imported in bulk from countries such as China, he said,
by organized crime organizations.

"It is for them a lucrative business. They are making a lot of money
based on the misery of others."

In any given year, Les said 100,000 kilos of ephedrine are imported
into the country. Of that amount, only 30,000 kilos are used for the
legal manufacture of medicines.

"The rest goes into the illegal production of substances like crystal
meth."

University professor Terry Waterhouse agreed that the meth epidemic
needed to be targeted at the source, primarily those who manufactured
and distributed the drug. The University College of the Fraser Valley
professor said career criminals were behind the problem and he echoed
Les' call for minimum sentences for convicted manufacturers and dealers.

"It's important the sentences reflect the seriousness of the issue and
the realities of those who are found in these labs. We need to look at
stronger sentences."