METH GOES MAINSTREAM

When Cpl. Scott Rintoul helped launch a probe to look at the world of
chemical drugs back in 1998 he was surprised to see narcotics like
methamphetamine showing up.

"I had never seized meth when I was in Surrey," he says.

It and others such as ecstasy were relatively foreign to the police in
Surrey where he worked at the time. Rintoul currently works with the RCMP's
Drug Awareness division. He will be one of the guest speakers at the city's
community forum on crystal meth, along with additions experts, law
enforcement and Solicitor General John Les.

Through the chemical drug study he's taken part in looking at the world of
raves, clubs and concerts. There the officers would arrest users for
information about the drugs, such as what went in them and the effects they
have on users.

The drugs were sent to the University of British Columbia where they were
analyzed for their basic chemical breakdown. This year alone they have
seized 200 samples. Health Canada is also on board now to examine the drugs
to provide more data about their concentrations.

One of things that became clear from the study was that the user profile
for crystal meth was a little broader than anyone expected.

"When a lot of people talk meth, they think street, they think homeless,"
Rintoul says.

While this might describe life for many of the drug's addicts, the appeal
is more across the board. Some young people try the highly addictive drug
as an appetite suppressant or at weekend parties. One thing is clear and
that is crystal meth has moved from underground culture into the mainstream.

While the drug has a number of damaging effects on its users' bodies, it
also has some broad social effects, such as criminal activity. The TV
images of carjackers high on crystal meth caught by police 'bait' cars are
becoming increasingly familiar.

The production of the drug also presents a range of social hazards, from
fires and chemical exposure to booby trapped labs. The City of Chilliwack,
which is organizing next week's forum on meth, has its own protocol for
workers when dealing with properties used to cook up batches of the drug.
According to Keith MacDonald, the city's safety consultant, its interest is
in finding evidence at homes to support bylaw infractions. However, in
gathering this, city workers have to avoid exposure to a number of chemical
byproducts emanating from cooked meth ingredients, such as iodine,
ephedrines or pseudoephedrines, red phosphorous, acetone, muriatic acid,
sulfuric acid, battery acid, antifreeze, lye, drain cleaner and camp stove
fuel.

"They absorb into furniture or into the walls," MacDonald says.

The byproducts also can take their toll on the surrounding environment, as
meth makers try to dispose of the waste material. The ratio of ingredients
to finished drug is five to one, meaning plenty of leftover chemicals
dumped down drains or into the ground.

"In the city of Vancouver, they actually had to excavate some property
because the soil was contaminated," MacDonald says.

It's not surprising that not only local governments but higher levels are
looking at ways to fight the drug. The issue has become a bigger priority
at the provincial level as of late. In late September Premier Gordon
Campbell announced the province would devote an additional $7 million to
new initiatives to fight the drug, especially at the community level.

"We know one thing for sure-successful prevention and treatment programs
start at the street level and in local communities," Campbell said in a
news release. "They work when communities drive them."

Maple Ridge is one community that came together to fight a growing meth
problem, after local Rotarians spearheaded the campaign. The city, school
district and health authority officials, the Salvation Army, the police,
and addictions programs workers, among others, all took part in an effort
to get people off the street and into treatment. The City of Chilliwack is
using this experience as a model for its forum next week. As Mayor Clint
Hames said in a recent news release: "We hope by taking an active approach,
we can help raise awareness about this issue and encourage our citizens to
get involved in prevention."

According to Corp. Rintoul, there is some good news, at least when it comes
to this drug. While crystal meth has a bigger profile than it had a few
years ago, particularly in B.C. and Ontario, the country has yet to see the
proliferation of mom-and-pop meth labs, as is the case south of the border.
He cites the World Drug Report from the United Nations, which in 2003 said
there were relatively few meth labs in Canada (39). Most were of the large
variety like the one busted in Abbotsford last month.

Police found $2.5 million worth of the drug at the rural property and
estimated the operation could turn out 12 kilograms of meth every 48 hours.

With relatively few producers, most meth made here also stays here, Rintoul
says. "The meth that's being produced locally is for the domestic market."

In the U.S. at the time of the World Drug Report estimates were of more
than 10,000 labs, often small mom-and-pop operations that could be set up
and dismantled easily.

While retailers can keep an eye on unusual behaviour, such as someone
coming into a pharmacy to buy all the ephedrine of pseudoephedrine, with
most Canadian production happening in larger labs the makers tend to buy
less at the retail level.

"What we're seeing is organized crime accessing chemicals in bulk," Rintoul
says.

Still, he encourages people to take action now, through programs such as
Meth Watch to make sure the drug does not gain ground.

* The Community Forum on Crystal Meth takes place at the Cheam Room of
Evergreen Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 11, from 7 to 9:30 p.m.