THE ITCH THAT CAN'T BE SCRATCHED

A woman begins scratching her forearm, convinced beyond doubt bugs
are crawling below the surface. In short order, she uses her own
nails, teeth or some other sharp devices to peel back her skin and
gouge the flesh down to the bone in search of the imaginary creatures.

Of course, she never finds the bugs. But this is an example of the
hallucinations and delusions, paranoia and unprovoked rage that
accompany addiction to methamphetamines, or what's better known as
crystal meth.

Angela Marshall, a drug counsellor from Mission, shared this and many
other graphic images of what meth can do to users during an education
forum at Thompson Rivers University Thursday evening.

"What we're dealing with here is not so much a drug as a poison," she
said, while listing the ingredients in meth to the crowd of about 200
people, mainly women, who attended the two-hour session.

The drug, which can be smoked, snorted or injected, is willingly
being taken by children and young people throughout the province in
alarming numbers.

There are more obvious and almost immediate side effects such as
severe weight loss and pock-marked complexion that accompany meth
use. There's depression, anxiety, obsession, anger and other mental
instabilities that are common.

And on top of all that, there are the long-term health problems and
potential for death, Marshall said. But still, young people continue
to use it in growing numbers, striving to relive that initial rush or
just numbing themselves to life.

Most users know the poisons included in meth, but cannot quit the
highly addictive substance, she said. To emphasize her point about
toxins, she explained that a razor blade used to cut meth will rust
within 24 hours of being used.

The crowd also heard professor and meth expert Dr. Darryl Plecas talk
about the scope of meth use and production in B.C., as well as
provincial Solicitor General John Les address what is and should be
done to address that problem.

Based on questions and feedback from the crowd and comments from the
panel, sentencing of meth producers and traffickers remained one of
the biggest concerns.

"The law doesn't deal effectively with this problem," Les said. "We
need the federal government to do some serious revamping of
sentencing in this country. They need to know that if they get caught
they're out of business for a long, long time."

He drew a parallel between those who produce and deal meth to
murderers: "It's akin to murder. We need to send them away for good,
as far as I'm concerned."

Plecas, who studies numerous police drug files and meth studies
worldwide said tougher sentences are key to getting the drug in check.

"It's an ugly, dangerous and deadly drug and we don't have sentences
to reflect that. Until we have that, we shouldn't hold out much hope
of anything happening," Plecas said.

Kamloops Mayor Terry Lake said arming people with information about
meth is the first and biggest step to battling the problem.

He commended local initiatives such at the MethKickers treatment
program at the Phoenix Centre and the awareness and enforcement
programs in the schools for helping this community battle the
potential drug pandemic.

"It's easy to get a little bit pessimistic about this problem. But
categorically, I don't think our community is any worse than any
other," Lake said. "If we work together and focus on education,
especially in the school system, we'll be able to fight this problem."

Hearing more about the existing local initiatives already in place to
battle meth use in the city, Les commended Kamloops on its integrated
approach to abolishing the drug.

"It's a very important issue for us to be concerned about," Les said.
"And you should be commended for taking a leadership role."