PREMIERS PUSH LIFE IN PRISON FOR METH TRAFFICKING

"It's About Time" Was The Sentiment Expressed By The Premiers This Past
Thursday Following The Federal Government's Announcement Of Stiffer
Penalties For Crystal Meth Production And Trafficking.

Lloydminster Meridian Booster -- "It's about time" was the sentiment
expressed by the premiers this past Thursday following the federal
government's announcement of stiffer penalties for crystal meth production
and trafficking.

"This is very welcome news," Saskatchewan premier Lorne Calvert said,
adding the Schedule 1 rating for meth sends out a significant signal and a
deterrent for users and to Canadians about the severity of this issue.

Schedule 1 drugs - cocaine, heroin and now meth - can garner the maximum
sentence possible, life in prison. Previously, crystal meth production and
trafficking could only result in a maximum sentence of 10 years, one that
even marijuana surpassed for penalties.

Calvert expressed his concerns at the national premier's conference last
week in Banff, citing the epidemic the U.S. is experiencing as an example
of what Canada could see if action is not taken.

"The experience in the United States and the experience that we're seeing
in Western Canada means that we have an opportunity to take the kind of
preventative action now that may well prevent this crystal meth from
becoming a national epidemic as it is described now in the United States,"
he said.

The federal government's decision to increase the maximum sentence on meth
has not only pleased provincial leaders, but law enforcement officers as well.

Cpl. Larry Brost of the Lloydminster RCMP detachment said while cocaine
still remains the primary concern in the Midwest, stiffer penalties on any
drug trafficking charge is good news.

"Anything's positive, right?" he said. "It's a positive move, (but) we
haven't had any real experience with crystal meth sentencing in
Lloydminster. It doesn't have any real trend here.

"There was a time where we had armed robberies over three months that were
a result of crystal meth usage," Brost said. "We feel confident in directly
saying that's the reason the crime was there, however, we don't have any
real experience with the new legislation nor the previous legislation of
crystal meth convictions and sentencing because there wasn't a whole lot of
it here."

As part of the country's fight against a growing meth problem, a national
conference is set to take place sometime this fall in Saskatchewan to form
a working bond between the provinces, medical professionals and those who
have experience dealing with drug addictions, specifically meth.

"We will conduct a national awareness campaign around crystal meth
specifically and substance abuse generally," Calvert said. "It will seek to
bring together expertise. I think we're all searching for the most
effective treatments, the most effective vehicles of prevention."

The importance of a national team effort stems from meth producers jumping
from province-to-province where groups like MethWatch - aimed at reducing
access to products containing meth ingredients - don't exist in order to
access the chemicals.

"There isn't a large body of scientific research - there is some - if we
can bring together the knowledge so that as we each set out to develop
prevention and treatment strategies, we're learning from each other, not
reinventing the wheel, and hopefully seeking the best possible
(solutions)," said Calvert.