PREMIERS TACKLE CRYSTAL METH 'CURSE'

Western leaders call on Ottawa to join them in all-out war against highly
addictive drug

LLOYDMINSTER, ALTA. -- Calling it a "common curse," the leaders of the
western provinces and territories unanimously pledged yesterday to battle
crystal methamphetamine, a highly addictive street drug plaguing their
communities.

"We have to be aggressive," Alberta Deputy Premier Shirley McClellan said
after emerging from a closed meeting at the annual Western Premiers
Conference. "This is an issue we are going to take leadership on. We are not
waiting."

She added that the country's young people are in "grave danger" from the
cheap drug, which is more addictive than crack cocaine and more likely to
cause psychosis than any other street drug.

Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert pushed the issue on to the conference's
crammed agenda, saying it is a "common curse" that all the provinces and
territories are struggling to control and treat.

The premiers agreed to hold a special meeting in Regina early next month on
the growing problem, which is also being experienced across the country and
in the United States. Each jurisdiction plans to send their health, justice
and public safety ministers to discuss strategies on education, prevention,
treatment and policing for crystal meth, which is also known as speed,
crank, crystal and ice.

The leaders are also calling on Ottawa to stiffen punishments for
traffickers and tighten controls on the sale of the chemicals used in
crystal meth production. It is easily made using a combination of
fertilizers, over-the-counter cold remedies and products sold in health food
stores that contain ephedrine.

Manitoba Premier Gary Doer wants crystal meth dealers to serve the same
sentences as people caught selling heroin and cocaine.

Northwest Territories Premier Joe Handley said while crystal meth isn't a
major problem in the North yet, he supports the strategy because he doesn't
want it spreading to his territory.

Most of the seven governments at the conference are already tackling the
problem.

British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell said his province has devoted more
police officers to quashing the drug and meth trade and has beefed up its
addiction treatment services.

The Alberta government recently passed a law that will allow authorities to
lock young meth users into detox centres for up to five days.

And last year, Alberta and British Columbia pharmacies voluntarily decided
to restrict the sale of cold remedies. Many are now available only from
behind the counter.

National statistics about the growth of meth addiction are scarce; however,
recent data from Health Canada's Drug Analysis Service, which tests the
drugs confiscated by police across the country, show B.C. police seizures of
the drug increased by 50 per cent between 2001 and 2003.

In Alberta, the number rose 20 per cent; in Ontario, 108 per cent; in
Manitoba, 141 per cent; in Quebec, 457 per cent; and in Saskatchewan, 857
per cent.

The problem of crystal meth in the United States has been so severe that
police in some western States have called it the Prairie Fire.

Sharon Jackson, an addiction worker at a Lloydminster detox centre located
behind the hotel where the premiers are meeting, was surprised but relieved
that they were discussing the issue.

"It's a rampant problem," she said.

Ms. Jackson said crystal meth, which can be either smoked, swallowed,
inhaled or injected, has become particularly attractive to young people in
the past couple of years because it is cheap -- a dose often costs less than
a package of cigarettes, and the high from the white crystals lasts for
hours.

"They just don't get the same thing from marijuana," she said.

She said that governments need to rethink how they treat meth addicts
because it takes much longer to recover from meth than other drugs.

While a detox program for someone escaping alcohol and drugs, such as
cocaine, takes five to seven days, a meth addict needs up to one month of
treatment.

Ms. Jackson also said governments need to rally communities, police and the
schools around this problem. "I think anything we do will help, but I think
it's going to have to be across the board. Not in just one area."

The western premiers also discussed many other issues yesterday, including
the skilled-labour shortage, transportation problems and problems in
agriculture, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad-cow disease).

The mountain pine beetle and spruce bark beetle also made it onto the
agenda. The pests are ravaging forests in British Columbia and Yukon.

Mr. Campbell said the mountain pine beetle should be a national issue, and
all the premiers asked for more federal money to be committed to fighting
the infestations.

The premiers conference wraps up today.