WHY SO LONG TO SEE CRYSTAL METH PROBLEM?

At Monday night's council meeting, Mayor Dan Mathieson announced he had
recently met with mayors from across the county and local police to discuss
crystal methamphetamine issues in the area. The fact the highly addictive
drug is being produced and consumed in Perth is nothing new to residents.
For the last three years we've been reading about meth-lab discoveries,
explosions and most recently, police stings taking down dealers. We applaud
the fact our mayors are ready to discuss the affects of the local drug
trade on the county, but are disturbed it took a story in The Toronto Star
to kickstart the process. After all, methamphetamine problems in Perth have
been covered extensively by local media over the last few years.

Mayor Mathieson himself said the meeting resulted from The Star article and
we wonder if perhaps councils have chosen to turn a blind eye to what
papers, radio and police in the area have been seeing for some time. Just a
few weeks ago, Stratford city council was pleased to hear the city had
received favourable coverage in the tourism section of a Detroit-area
newspaper. City staff said several other reporters had been in the tourism
office seeking information. However, responding to a local drug crisis only
after it makes front-page news in the big-city daily makes it seem the real
concern is about bad public relations and the effect on tourism that may
result from it, rather than the welfare of our citizens and those affected
by drug-related crime.

Nevermind the 83 meth addicts - some teenagers - who found themselves
seeking help last year at Choices for Change.