WHO'S U.S.'S WORST DRUG DEALER? WE ARE!

OTTAWA -- Canada is now the largest single supplier of pot, speed and
steroids to the United States, says a top customs official

American authorities are making more seizures both at and south of the
border, says George Webb, head of counter-terrorism and
counter-proliferation for the Canadian Border Services Agency

At the same time, the flow of illegal drugs to Canada from the U.S.
appears to have stabilized, according to the agency. Major drug busts
at the Canadian border have been fairly consistent since the mid-1990s

"In the old days, the flow of drugs was northbound, coming out of the
United States," Webb said Tuesday. "That . . . has changed. "We are
now their biggest drug supplier, whether it be B.C. bud,
methamphetamines or steroids." One American seizure last year yielded
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency more than $500 million worth of
methamphetamines

Last year, there were 974 large seizures of drugs coming into Canada,
with a total street value of about $269.7 million, the agency reports

That's down marginally from the 1,063 seizures in 2003, when the value
was pegged at $600 million. There were 932 significant seizures in
2002 worth $292.8 million and 873 seizures in 2001 worth $865 million

Shipments of processed ecstasy into Canada have fallen off in the past
year or two, Webb said, while criminals have begun importing raw
materials and processing the drug in-country

Street values, as set by the RCMP, vary depending on the kind of drugs
seized, the market and the size of individual seizures

"The values go up and down like a yo-yo," Webb said. "If we miss one
of those 40-foot containerloads of hash, trust me, within a month we
know it -- we see the street value of it dropping." The figures
represent major drug busts; they don't include seizures below a
kilogram of marijuana, 10 grams of heroin, 50 grams of cocaine, 500
grams of hashish or 100 tabs of ecstasy.