POCO LAUNCHES METH WATCH PROGRAM

Retailers Post Signs, Train Staff On What To Look For

While police, firefighters and Health Canada workers took apart a dangerous
methamphetamine lab in Port Coquitlam four months ago, an idea to prevent
similar labs was brewing.

At City Hall and in the community police stations, people were trying to
find a way to deal with the growing problem of crystal methamphetamine,
also known as meth.

The result is the Meth Watch program.

Assistant fire Chief Al Nicholson predicts that meth will be worst epidemic
this country's ever seen.

"You don't want to say it, but it's going to make marijuana and drug grows
look like a walk in the park," he said.

And although Nicholson said the chances of preventing super labs, like the
one found in Vancouver this week, are slim, the goal of preventing
mom-and-pop operations set up in kitchen sinks or in the trunks of cars, or
at home in coffee pots by curious teens with Grade 8 chemistry under their
belts is attainable with Meth Watch.

"We were looking at different programs we could bring in to curb the use
and the making of it and this was a successful program," said Coun. Greg
Moore, who chairs the committee.

The Meth Watch Program is designed to help curtail the theft and suspicious
sales of pseudoephed-rine products, such as over-the-counter cold
medication and other common household products used to manufacture meth in
underground labs.

"It's educating the retailers and consumers of the products that go into
meth and from a retailer's perspective educating their staff what to look
for when people are purchasing the ingredients for meth," Moore said.

"If someone's coming in and buying five cases of Sudafed, it's probably not
because they have a really bad cold."

Participating retailers strategically post Meth Watch signs on their store
fronts. Using a specially developed web-learning portal, they train their
employees to recognize suspicious transactions, without confronting or
identifying the customer, and to contact police when these take place.

"It's just awareness, really," said Const. Brigitte Goguen.

She said once businesses have been visited and given information, there
will be follow-up to see if the program has been implemented, employees are
being trained and decals are up.

"It involves more than just coming in and sticking up stickers," Goguen said.

A team of police, fire and municipal representatives visited between 30 and
35 local businesses this week, most of which were receptive to the idea.

"They're just the innocent victims," Nicholson said of retailers. "They're
getting used and not even knowing they're getting used. And I haven't
talked to a single person yet in the community that wants to be associated
with that."

One of the participating businesses is the Pharmasave on Coast Meridian Road.

Jim Fenton, whose family runs the drugstore, said they were happy to
participate.

"We have to do something here, because it's becoming more and more of a
problem," Fenton said. "If we can prevent something, it's better than
treating the after-effect"

He said that staff at his Pharmasave haven't seen any strange activity yet,
but they watch pretty closely and know what to look for - it's not hard to
pick out.

When the Meth Watch program is in full swing, the city doesn't plan to just
sit back and relax.

"After this program is implemented that might be the next stage that we go
to, is to limit the amount that people can purchase of certain products,"
Moore said.

Meth is a powerful and highly addictive stimulant that affects the central
nervous system. It is a synthetic drug produced or sold as pills, capsules
or powder that can be smoked, snorted, injected or swallowed.

It damages the nervous system and use can cause dependence and addiction,
psychosis, stroke, dangerously high body temperature and irregular heartbeat.

"Most cases, one or two tries is all you need to be addicted permanently,"
Nicholson said. "Meth is a chemical drug, it changes the chemical makeup of
your body, you won't recover and that's the problem with it.

"And that's what scares the hell out of us."

For more information, visit www.methwatch.ca.

NOW you know:

The following are some items commonly used to produce crystal meth:

- - over-the-counter cough, cold and allergy medicines containing
pseudoephedrine or ephedrine

- - acetone

- - rubbing alcohol

- - iodine

- - starter fluid (ether)

- - gas additives (methanol)

- - drain cleaner

- - lithium batteries

- - rock salt

- - matchbooks

- - lye

- - paint thinner