VICTORIA TAKES ON METH

A new group in Victoria hopes to provide a united front against crystal meth
in the Capital Region.

Members of the Crystal Meth Society Victoria hope to facilitate the creation
of a task force, bringing together youth groups, additions agencies, police
and community groups to help tackle the growing problem of meth addiction in
the community, said founding director Ruth Layne, an Esquimalt councillor.

The group will seek funds from corporate and private donors, Layne said. One
of its first missions is to push to see retailers remove some of the main
ingredients of the highly toxic compound from common retail shelves.

Layne said that similar moves proved successful in Maple Ridge, which saw
creation of a similar anti-meth task force last year.

Typical ingredients for meth include certain brands of cold medication,
kerosene and lithium batteries. "You can't believe what goes into crystal
meth," Layne said.

The toxic ingredients typically trigger sores on the skin in habitual users.
"It's usually a tell-tale sign that someone is using meth," Layne added.

Simply placing those kinds of items in a more secure location -ideally
behind the counter -is a vital first step to combating the spread of meth
addiction, Layne suggested.

The key to the group's success, she said, lies in generating awareness
through the media. "It's really important that we build relationships," she
said.

The group hopes to have its website, http://www.crystalmethbc.ca, online
soon. It is expected to contain a variety of useful information, such as
what to look for should one suspect someone of using crystal meth and who to
call if you know of someone concocting it.

Health and law officials consider meth one of the more dangerous street
drugs due its highly addictive nature and relatively low production cost.