RONA JOINS METH WATCH

Meth manufacturers looking to stock up on ingredients at the Rona
Home Centre on Bay Street will have to contend with the watchful eyes
of well-trained staff under a program launched Friday by the Crystal
Meth Victoria Society.

Called Meth Watch, the North America-wide initiative aims to limit
access to raw ingredients used to make crystal methamphetamine, many
of which are every day items found at hardware stores, building
suppliers and pharmacies.

Rona manager Brian Higgins said he was happy to jump on board once he
realized how many of the raw ingredients could be bought in his store.

"I'd heard of crystal meth before but I hadn't realized the extent of
it," he said. "We're an obvious source. A lot of this stuff is a
normal part of our product mix."

Items that will be flagged for extra scrutiny include rubbing
alcohol, kerosene, matches, drain cleaners, paint thinner, starter
fluid, acetone, lye and lithium batteries.

Meth Watch involves educating staff on the products in question and
how to spot people who may be buying them for illicit purposes.

Employees can either refuse to sell the products or, more likely,
relay information about the purchaser to the authorities, who can
review security tapes if they decide to investigate. Rona's sliding
glass main doors now feature Meth Watch stickers advising patrons the
program is in place.

Rona is the first of eight local retailers that will be officially
joining Meth Watch in the coming weeks, said Crystal Meth Victoria
Society volunteer Nancy Pearson.That list includes pharmacies such as
London Drugs and Shopper's Drug Mart sell over-the-counter cold
remedies such as Sudafed, Benylin and Contac, which contain
ephedrine, the active ingredient in crystal meth.

Victoria police volunteer Jason Strelzow said the program targets
small, home-based meth labs, not the kind of large-scale operations
that police have uncovered on the Lower Mainland. Authorities believe
large scale labs are supplying most of the meth, due in part to lax
federal restrictions on bulk ephedrine purchases.