CRYSTAL METH USE IN OLDS ON THE RISE

Crystal meth is not a commonly used drug in Olds, but the number of people
abusing it is growing, revealed RCMP Constable Ken Beard.

Properly known as methamphetamine, crystal meth is an extremely dangerous
and addictive drug. Beard has seen an increase in the amount of people
using this drug in the Olds community through investigation of theft
related crimes.

"There's been the odd individual that has been using methamphetamine who
has been attracting the attention of the RCMP," commented Beard. "The
trouble with methamphetamine, being very addictive, people make the use of
methamphetamine a high priority in their life and so they'll do what ever
they have to do, or convert whatever property they have or what ever
property somebody else has, to acquire cash so they can buy more
methamphetamine. (Users) are usually caught with stolen property or stolen
vehicles."

Beard estimates crystal meth has been in the Olds community for about a
year and a half, and believes some local users are turning to crystal meth
because of the methamphetamine's strong neurological effects.

"Lot's of times people that do use it are one's that may not get the
effects they're looking for on a drug that doesn't produce the same kind of
a high, so they kind of escalate the need."

Crystal meth comes in a white crystalline powder form. It can be smoked
from a pipe, injected, snorted, swallowed or inserted through the anal
cavity (hooped). In addition to pipes, tools used to smoke crystal meth
include pencil torches, pieces of light bulb and hollowed out pen tubes.
Either smoking or injecting crystal meth produces an almost instantaneous
high, which can last from eight to 12 hours. The cost is between $5 to $8 a
point (less than a gram).

"People don't understand how dangerous and addictive (crystal meth) is and
how easy it is to acquire. And they definitely don't understand the
consequences of its use."

Users have been known to act bizarre and violent, be compulsive and
alienate their friends and family. Effects include impaired speech, the
body drying from the inside out, hallucinations (hearing voices, seeing
shadow people and small children who are not actually there), depression,
sores inside the mouth and all over the body (from the body actually
pushing methamphetamine crystals through the skin), lung damage to the
point where users are coughing up bloody chunks, purple legs in females,
dramatic weight loss, increased proneness to sickness, and brain damage,
sometimes severe.

Unlike other illegal stimulants such as cocaine, crystal meth does not
originate from a natural substance; it is entirely synthetic made from
store bought ingredients including lighter fluid, brake cleaner, cold
remedies containing ephedrine, and iodine. Beard indicated store owners in
the Olds community should pay attention to who they are selling these
products to.

"If (store owners) see someone coming in and buying a precursor in large
amounts, or they're coming back on a regular basis and buying more, that
can be an indicator there's something else going on there," explained
Beard. "Now, it is very easy to buy isopropyl alcohol and use it for
legitimate reasons, but isopropyl alcohol is also used for the manufacture
of methamphetamine." He added, "If it looks suspicious, it may just be
suspicious."

Although no crystal meth labs have been discovered in Olds, one
sophisticated lab could contain enough explosive material to level nearly
half the town (five city blocks).

"The trouble with methamphetamine is it deals with a lot of toxic and
explosive substances, and when individuals are conducting their business in
making methamphetamine, they are putting themselves and everyone else in
danger because there is a huge potential for explosion."

Beard continued, "The toxicity with all the chemicals they're using put
children at danger, and families at danger -- anything really in contact,
including emergency personnel."

According to Beard, the Olds community should pay attention to homes where
numerous people frequently visit for only short periods of time (these
visits could potentially be drug deals), excessive garbage, and those
living in the home who have no visible means of employment.