PM QUESTIONED ABOUT METH

A Langley Township councillor who works with at-risk high school students
has appealed directly to Prime Minister Paul Martin to help stem the
scourge of crystal meth.

Steve Ferguson, a special education instructor with the Delta school
district, challenged Martin at the end of the PM's speech at the annual
Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Vancouver on Friday.

Martin's speech focused on the 2010 Olympics, gasoline taxes, new
federal-provincial infrastructure programs and other initiatives relevant
to municipalities.

When Martin had finished, Ferguson, the first to ask a question from the
floor, told the PM that the problem of crystal meth is big and troubling,
"and we need your help."

"Young people are having their lives taken away by a very serious drug that
has no borders. Every municipality in this country can be affected by this
terrible drug, Mr. Prime Minister, and we need your help," Ferguson told
Martin.

Martin, according to Ferguson, replied that he was aware of concerns
regarding the drug and that he had instructed Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh
to work with the provincial ministries of health to get the necessary
treatment and support in place to help communities combat the health and
social repercussions of the drug.

Ferguson said later that he will monitor how the federal government acts,
and will hold Martin's feet to the fire to ensure that he keeps his word.

Crystal meth "is a very cheap drug," he said. "You can get a small hit for
$2. It's cheap, and it's out there and it's easy to get."

If government fail to act "we are going to fall further and further into
the abyss of this drug," Ferguson added. Crystal meth is a powerful
stimulant that has identical effects to cocaine. Where cocaine's effects
last 30 minutes, crystal meth's last up to 18 hours.