METH TASK FORCE WILL MEET TONIGHT

A community group formed to combat methamphetamine addiction is
meeting again tonight, and the public is invited.

Nanaimo Crystal Meth Task Force is hosting an open forum Nov. 3 at 7
p.m. at John Barsby community school.

This will be the second such event since the committee formed in
mid-September.

Methamphetamine, or crystal meth, is a cheap, long-lasting stimulant
made in clandestine labs using relatively common, though highly toxic
household chemicals.

Extremely addictive, its pleasurable effects lead to sleep
deprivation, emaciation, and nerve damage and can even cause death.
Addicts become aggressive, delusional, paranoid and sometimes psychotic.

Too often, they lose everything to a life of crime. Addiction is often
linked to car thefts in which addicts tear around on a crime spree to
raise money for more drugs.

Task force members have been developing a plan for controlling meth
addiction over the past eight weeks. Other successful programs have
typically followed a three-pronged attack focusing on education,
enforcement and eradication of the precursor chemicals used to make
meth.