CANADA INTENT ON CURBING METH LABS

National Program Takes Aim At Rising Drug Threat

A national coalition that includes the RCMP will unveil a campaign tomorrow
to stop a destructive drug problem from crossing the U.S. border into
Canada, particularly the western provinces that are considered to be at
higher risk than the rest of the country.

Meth Watch, as the program is known, is designed to stop the development of
small underground laboratories that make methamphetamine, or crystal meth,
a highly addictive illegal narcotic that has become the drug of choice in
parts of Canada and the United States.

The problem has been a particular concern in Manitoba since a series of
arrests earlier this year exposed this province as a key distribution point
in an alleged multi-million-dollar pipeline that channelled huge amounts of
ephedrine to drug markets on the West Coast and in the United States.

Gerry Harrington, spokesman for the National Drug Manufacturers Association
of Canada, said 20 per cent of the supply of methamphetamine in the United
States is made by mom-and-pop operations that acquire their main
ingredients from over-the-counter drugs, such as cold medicines and
decongestants.

"They've been popping up like mushrooms stateside," Harrington said, noting
more than 30,000 "mini labs" have been busted in the last five years in the
United States.

The trend has led to an outbreak of smash and grabs where addicts steal
large quantities of cold medicine and then "cook it" in basement labs,
Harrington said. "It's just a matter of time before we see it get out of
hand here," he said.

The key ingredient in meth is ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, closely related
chemicals that are commonly found in cold medicines.

The Meth Watch campaign will be unveiled in Vancouver by the RCMP, the
Retail Council of Canada, the Canadian Association of Drug Stores and the
drug manufacturers association.

Educate workers

Harrington said the program's goal is to educate drug-store workers about
suspicious purchases of cough and cold medicines, and some of the other
ingredients used in making crystal meth, including rubbing alcohol, rock
salt acetone, iodine and a long list of other products.

Employees will be given a 1-800 number to law enforcement agencies that
will watch for trends before launching drug probes, Harrington explained.
The program for now will focus on B.C.'s Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island
and Edmonton, because those areas are already experiencing problems with
crystal meth, Harrington said.

Confined

For some reason, the problem of mini labs is relatively confined to the
western parts of the United States, but it's feared it will reach Winnipeg
and Manitoba in a matter of time, he said.

It wasn't known when Meth Watch would be launched in Winnipeg.

The campaign is based on one designed by the state of Kansas three years
ago and which has since been adopted by most western states, Harrington said.

The bulk of crystal meth, he said, is still made through the distribution
of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine to gangs and other groups.

The drugs are just two of a long list of so-called precursor drugs,
chemicals that are used to make illegal narcotics.

Earlier this year, 10 Manitobans were charged with various offences, while
a drug manufacturing company in Thunder Bay -- Pumpuii Canada Inc. -- was
also linked to the alleged conspiracy.

The ephedrine was transported from Pumpuii in pill or powdered form to
Winnipeg and then shipped to Alberta, according to the RCMP. The case
raised questions about how a key ingredient in illegal drugs could be moved
around with such ease.

But Harrington said new Health Canada regulations that came into effect
last January will make it harder to ship the drugs easily.

Under those rules, anyone buying precursor drugs like ephedrine must be
licensed and have a permit for the acquisition or sale of the chemicals.

Stephanie Haverstick, vice-president of Vita Health Natural Food Stores of
Manitoba, said in a previous interview that her company buys
pseudoephedrine in large quantities from India, where the main distributors
are based.

Haverstick said the firm's use of the chemical is audited by Health Canada,
which requires Vita Health to account for every gram of the product.

The raw product can only be redistributed to firms that are licensed and
possess permits issued by Health Canada, she said.

Vita Health uses pseudoephedrine to manufacture cold medicines, Haverstick said.