CRYSTAL METH THREAT ON WESTERN PREMIERS' AGENDA

EDMONTON (CP) -- A drug that ravages children's minds and a bug that
ravages pine forests are on the agenda this week as premiers from the
western provinces and northern territories meet for their annual conference.

Crystal meth, a highly addictive drug easily cooked up from legal
materials, is destroying young lives across the country, says Saskatchewan
Premier Lorne Calvert.

He's hoping his colleagues will agree to a joint meeting of health and
justice ministers from each jurisdiction to discuss the issue.

"The issues around addictions and crystal meth are not confined to one of
our provinces," Calvert said yesterday.

Calvert also wants to press Ottawa for stiffer punishment for those who
traffic in crystal meth and for tighter controls on the sale of the
chemicals used in its production.

"We need to look at both sides of the equation. There's the side of the
equation that talks about prevention, treatment, dealing with young people
who are already engaged or addicted. There is another side of this . . .
and that's the whole question of the source."

The premiers will likely hear about a new Alberta law that will allow
authorities to lock young meth users into detox treatment for five days at
a time, with the hope they will then accept further voluntary treatment.

The premiers start their meeting tonight in Lloydminster, a city of 21,000,
chosen because it straddles the boundary between Alberta and Saskatchewan,
the two provinces celebrating their centennials this year.

Alberta's Ralph Klein was to be the host, but bowed out yesterday due to a
respiratory infection. Due to the election, B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell
isn't expected to stay for the final session Friday. Campbell wants the
western premiers to help in the fight against the mountain pine beetle.

The beetle has already infested more than seven million hectares of B.C.
forest -- an area bigger than New Brunswick.

In Alberta, more than two million hectares, with a commercial value
estimated at $23 billion, are at risk.

The spruce bark beetle is doing similar damage in southwestern Yukon.

"We do have to make sure that other western premiers understand the extent
of that and the importance of an approach that includes not just British
Columbia, but the federal government," Campbell said.