STUDENTS EXPOSED TO METH'S PERILS

B.C. Bud Isn't Just Marijuana And Ecstasy Isn't Just MDMA Anymore.

There's a good chance ecstasy - long considered a "soft" drug - is
mixed with crystal methamphetamine, Oak Bay police are warning.

Recently back from a workshop on crystal methamphetamine hosted by
B.C. Corrections Branch, Oak Bay Const. Rob Smith is trying to get
that message out to as many youth as he can.

"Educating youth is the most important way to combat the issue," he said.

People experience the adverse health effects of using meth without
evening knowing they took it.

"Eighty per cent of ecstasy tested last year was cut with meth,"
Smith said, adding that the amount marks a significant increase over last year.

Smith's message isn't easy to get across.

"I am up against a prevailing belief that (ecstasy and marijuana) are
safe drugs," he said. "There is no such thing as safe drugs."

The Internet has served as a mixed blessing for distributing
information about drugs.

"People can find out both sides of the argument on the Internet, it's
a losing battle," he said.

While police have not charged anyone with trafficking crystal meth in
Oak Bay, most of the people charged with theft from vehicles will
"willingly admit" that they are addicted meth users, Smith said.

"They call it farming," he said. "They figure if you are rich enough
to live in Oak Bay then it's OK to take the change from your car."

Compared to the rest of the country, B.C. is a hotbed for meth use -
making up 65 per cent of labs in Canada.

"These are not ma and pa operations either, many of them are large
scale," he said.

Saanich police officer Kim Basi recently gave Grade 10 students at
Oak Bay high school a frank talk about the dangers associated with meth use.

Most of what Basi's presentations are about students already knew -
and it wasn't because they received similar talks before.

Out of a class of 25 students, more than half knew someone who used
meth before and more than a quarter knew where to go or who to talk
to to buy it.

"I know someone who used it to stay awake and read all of the Harry
Potter book," one student said.

In addition to the educational seminars Smith and Basi are giving
students, Oak Bay politicians are offering to help.

Council recently voted unanimously to support the Crystal Meth
Victoria Society and community-based programs aimed at reducing the
spread of meth use in the Capital Region.