VICTORIA VOWS ACTION ON METH

A public forum in Chilliwack this week underlined the importance of a
co-ordinated, community-based attack on the growing menace of crystal
meth.

More than 800 people turned out to hear a number of speakers,
including a 30-year-old recovering meth addict, who challenged the
audience and organizers to take action.

The forum was an important step in the fight against meth, an
inspiration to other communities to take up the cause. The plain truth
is that crystal meth kills. The statistics tell the story. Over the
past four years, meth-related deaths in B.C. have increased tenfold,
while the lives of countless other users have been permanently destroyed.

British Columbia has been a leader in fighting the meth threat. We
began looking for ways to combat the drug more than two years ago, and
in 2004 we became the first jurisdiction in Canada to announce an
integrated crystal meth strategy.

Recently, Premier Gordon Campbell announced the next step in the fight
against meth - a $7-million dollar investment in targeted programs and
resources. It's a significant amount of money that will help educate
our children about the horrors of meth addiction and help develop
community-based solutions to contain, control and treat it.

This new funding will help us fight meth addiction on three fronts.
First, we're putting over $2 million into enhancing treatment
programs, to ensure professional care is available for meth-addicted
youth. Second, we will provide $2 million in grant money to
communities so that every community across the province can implement
anti-meth programs at the local level.

Finally, we're launching a targeted education campaign, to get the
facts about meth use and addiction out to youth and their families. We
believe that if young people learn the truth about meth, many of them
will make the smart choice and avoid crystal meth completely.
Education is key to prevention of meth addiction - a single experiment
with this drug can be fatal.

Our new crystal meth initiatives will operate cross-government, and
will be co-ordinated by a crystal meth secretariat in my ministry.

These latest measures build on work already in progress. Last year, we
announced an integrated strategy to control access to the chemicals
used in making meth, to pressure the federal government to increase
criminal

penalties for making and selling the drug, and to support police in
their fight against the organized gangs that often control production
and sale of crystal meth.

In response to this pressure, Ottawa recently announced it was
bringing in tougher penalties for individuals convicted of producing
and trafficking meth. The province supports these initiatives but will
continue to advocate for more effective control of the precursor
chemicals moving through our ports.

I'm proud of the fact that BC is leading the country in the fight
against meth, but we can't afford to stop now. This government will
continue to look for ways to strengthen our approach, and to work with
communities and parents to stop the spread of meth. Young people in
British Columbia are depending on us.

John Les is the MLA for Chilliwack/Sumas and Minister of Public
Safety and Solicitor General