POLITICIANS PROPOSE METH CRACKDOWN

"Something Has To Be Offered Outside Of The Major Centres."

Politicians at three different levels of government launched assaults last
week in the war against a drug that has plagued the Yellowhead Region for
years.

Legislation was tabled at both the provincial and federal levels that
looks to restrict the distribution of chemicals used to produce
crystal methamphetamine.

"Meth has been a real and visible problem in communities in our riding
for some time. Its effects have been devastating," said Yellowhead MP
Rob Merrifield, who introduced Bill C-349 in Ottawa on March 21.

C-349 was first tabled by Merrifield in late 2003, but it was swept
aside along with other unadopted pieces of legislation when the 2004
election was called. The bill would see limitations placed on the
possession and distribution of certain chemicals, like red phosphorus,
which are used in meth production. C-349 would help bring Canada more
in-line with regulations already in place in the United States. "This
bill would be another tool for police to go after individuals involved
in this criminal activity and shut down these meth operations,"
Merrifield said. "Will it give the police all the power many of us
want them to have? No, but it's a start."

Meanwhile, West Yellowhead MLA Ivan Strang tabled Bill 204 at the
provincial legislature in Edmonton. Introduced March 14, the bill
looks to regulate the storage and sale of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine
and products containing the two drugs.

These products are currently available over the counter at Canadian
pharmacies, but Strang said the College of Pharmacists has already
been in discussion with the province about future sale
restrictions.

"Hopefully, we can make it that much harder to produce a drug that has
really taken root in the west," Strang said.

Strang's bill is slated to be read in the middle of April.
Merrifield's bill may not be read until the fall.

"The order is decided by a lottery system and I am further down the
list right now, so I might have to do some horse trading to get this
moved up," Merrifield said, adding that he has already received some
encouraging calls from other MPs and hopes the bill can be moved up to
the spring session.

Statistics show meth -- also known as jib, ice, or crystal, among
other things -- has become an increasing social ill since the
mid-1990s. Arrests for meth trafficking in Alberta increased from 13
arrests in 1998 to 109 in 2003. Possession arrests increased from 21
in 1998 to 252 in 2003.

Tasha Allen Symon, area supervisor for the Alberta Alcohol and Drug
Abuse Commission (AADAC), said meth addiction is involved with about
one third of individuals who seek substance abuse counselling with
AADAC in Hinton. Last month she said there have been about 16-20 new
clients each year for the last three years.

Meth use became such a local concern that the Hinton Drug Action
Committee was formed in 2003. A rigorous door-to-door awareness
campaign and a Web site (http://www.methhurts.com) earned them a 2004
Solicitor General Award.

Hinton Mayor Glenn Taylor and community services director, Betty
Osmond, met with Solicitor General Harvey Cenaiko on March 23 to
discuss diverting fine revenue to drug rehabilitation efforts.

Taylor also met with MLA and AADAC chair, Dave Rodney, earlier this
month to discuss construction of a detoxification facility in the
Yellowhead Region.

"We think something has to be offered outside of the major centres,"
Taylor said. "This is important to us, especially with the severity of
the problem in communities across the Yellowhead."