RESPONDING INTELLIGENTLY TO CRYSTAL METH

Restricting the sales of materials used to manufacture crystal meth
may not be the panacea politicians expect.

Those of us who are social scientists interested in social issues
often face a dilemma. We are fairly good at describing what happened
and in providing evidence when programs do not work. Unfortunately,
we are not good at saying what should be done. It is also difficult
to explain why things happen. Like medical research, it takes a long
time and many experiments with control and comparison groups before
we can identify those actions that actually help.

Naturally, it is difficult to not to favour restricting the sales of
materials used to manufacture crystal meth. However, we have
considerable knowledge about the consequences of prohibiting
substances. In the days of alcohol prohibition, a number of towns in
the U. S. were considering ending the ban on alcohol. The Women's
Christian Temperance Union was one of the groups fighting to keep
prohibition. Unbeknownst to the WCTU leaders, organized crime was
funneling money into their campaign. Naturally, they wanted to see
prohibition continue. Their income would be reduced considerably if
they had to compete with legitimate liquor dealers.

I am not suggesting that organized crime is secretly campaigning for
laws making it illegal to sell materials used to manufacture crystal meth.

However, it would be to their advantage if the police would crack
down on the amateurs and leave the business to the more ruthless, the
more sophisticated and better organized professional criminals.

In general, our efforts to reduce the supply of drugs have been
ineffective. In Sept 2000 Canadian police seized 100 kg of heroin,
one of the largest-ever seizures. Did it have an impact on injection
users? The Vancouver Injection Study compared 30 day periods before
and after the seizure. They found no meaningful change. The price of
heroin went down, suggesting that other shipments easily compensated
for the seizures.

If I were a politician, would I vote for measures to restrict the
sales of materials to manufacture crystal meth? Of course! How can
you not vote for motherhood? There are demands that something must be
done. Emotionally, I want to support such a measure. That is my
dilemma, because I am aware that it would be another invitation for
organized criminals to expand their activity.

Jim Hackler

Hackler is a UVic sociologist and the the author of a "Canadian
Criminology: a "Strategies and Perspectives.