CRYSTAL METH JUST THE BEGINNING

Comprehensive Addiction Plan Key To Today's, Tomorrow's Problems

SASKATOON - Saskatchewan Party MLA Ted Merriman has seen first-hand
the devastation wrought by crystal methamphetamine.

His daughter, Kelly, now recovering from years of using the drug, is
struggling to become one of the few success stories in overcoming this
highly addictive substance. Her father, a Saskatoon Opposition MLA, is
speaking publicly about the effects that crystal meth is having on his
family. He's also advocating for a focused provincial strategy for
dealing with crystal meth.

The province, however, says the focus of its resources should be on
improving all addiction services, not just attacking crystal meth.

"Do we have to wait as politicians until it's an epidemic to act? If
we were on this from Day 1 and we stopped 50 kids from getting
involved, it would pay for a program," Merriman told the media.

Another Saskatoon parent has also experienced the drug's damage
firsthand. Linda Duvall's son, Jesse Loewy, also became addicted. Last
year, he threatened police with a gun and was shot. He recovered and
is now serving a sentence in the Saskatoon Correctional Centre.

Duvall told the media that affected families share the common
difficulty of finding adequate treatment for their children.
Currently, there are 164 drug addiction treatment beds spread
throughout the province. However, Duvall says most government-funded
treatment programs are not long enough to deal with crystal meth
addiction. Duvall and Merriman are calling for a separate facility
devoted to youth drug addictions. The only such provincial facility
that existed, Whitespruce near Yorkton in east-central Saskatchewan,
was closed in 1993 in an effort to cut costs.

Merriman is vowing to create a dedicated youth drug treatment centre,
and says he will raise money from the business community if necessary.
However, he accuses the provincial government of being ineffective in
attacking the problem of crystal meth, and says the province has its
priorities in the wrong place.

"If we've got millions of dollars for business ventures that are
unsuccessful... and we haven't got money for addiction centres and
educational programs, then I say as government, on either side of the
house, we've got our priorities backwards," Merriman told the media.
What has so many people alarmed about this drug, and not just in
Saskatchewan, is that crystal meth is a highly addictive, home-cooked
injection substance created out of anything from swimming pool cleaner
to anhydrous ammonia. A Saskatchewan Party news release quotes recent
statistics to document the problem.

The Saskatoon Integrated Drug Unit notes that the number of incidents,
charges or arrests related to crystal meth has risen from none in 2000
to 86 as of the end of October last year. In Regina, the Saskatchewan
Party news release says, there were 25 incidents, charges or events as
of the end of this October, and another 14 charges in November. Prince
Albert had 45 incidents last year, and Melfort, a small city in
northeastern Saskatchewan, 11.

"Communities across Saskatchewan are holding meetings to educate
themselves about crystal meth, but because there is no overarching
strategy coming from the provincial government, these communities have
to reinvent the wheel every time a discussion is held," Saskatchewan
party MLA June Draude said in a news release

last month. However, the government argues that the province requires
a well-thought-out strategy that deals with all drug addictions, and
does not focus just on crystal meth. Its recent answer to the
Opposition's pressure on this issue is the appointment of Saskatoon
MLA Graham Addley as the legislative secretary to the premier on
substance abuse prevention and treatment.

That long title means that Addley will review the province's current
drug addiction programs and policies, and look at what works in
addiction treatment strategies. He will recommend changes to be made
to addiction services, including prevention, treatment, enforcement
and measures to reduce the impact of drug addiction.

Addley will consult community groups, educators, young people,
municipalities, First Nations and Metis organizations, the Health
Department and its treatment agencies, as well as other levels of
government here and in other jurisdictions to determine how existing
strategies should be changed.

In Alberta, for example, communities along the Yellowhead Highway have
joined in a campaign to educate people about the dangers of crystal
meth and its widespread use. The Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Commission (AADC) has extensive information on a website aimed at
young people; the commission also has online information available to
secondary school teachers.

Saskatchewan Health has some information available online, but it is
not particularly targeted toward young people. The province's
information also includes online links to the AADC's
information.

Saskatchewan could no doubt do a great deal more in the area of
crystal meth prevention and treatment. However, the same could likely
be said for prevention and treatment of other drug problems--it seems
that programs can always use more money.

So it makes sense for the province to appoint someone to determine
exactly what does need to be done in the area of drug addiction, and
how current services can be improved.

Crystal meth is scary because of how easily addictive the drug is and
how easy it is to get the ingredients. But it's also likely that
another scary, easily accessible street drug is going to be cooked up
somewhere. The only way the province will find out what it should be
doing to prevent such addictions is to carefully examine what it's
doing now and what the predictions are for the future use of this drug
and others. Then it can come up with a strategy that's useful on
several fronts, not just one.