CITY CRACKS DOWN ON CRYSTAL METH

The City of Abbotsford has joined a number of other Canadian
municipalities in supporting a push to crack down on crystal meth producers.

Abbotsford backed a number of cities in getting behind the initiative
at last weekend's Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)
conference in St. John's, NL.

The resolution was passed, and now, partly due to FCM pressure, the
federal government has agreed to look into the issue. Health minister
Ujjal Dosanjh announced yesterday that the government was proposing to
strengthen the regulation of chemicals used to produce crystal meth,
making them "class A" and thereby requiring them to have a licence for
production and distribution.

According to Dosanjh, changes to the Controlled Drugs and Substances
Act are also being considered to create higher penalties for crystal
meth-related offences.

Attending the conference from Abbotsford were mayor Mary Reeves, city
chief Gary Guthrie and Coun. Moe Gill.

The city has already identified meth labs as a local problem, and
Reeves said the new crackdown will arm Abbotsford with additional tools.

The FCM resolution covered many of the points that were included in
Dosanjh's announcement.

The resolution asked that crystal meth be increased from a schedule
one to a schedule three drug. The substance, also known as crank, is
currently classified below marijuana in the Controlled Drugs and
Substances Act.

It also focused on limiting access to the drug's ingredients, some of
which can currently be purchased in pharmacies.