CRYSTAL METH NOT JUST A BIG CITY PROBLEM

It's long-lasting, extremely addictive and deadly - and can be
produced from easy-to-come-by ingredients and Internet recipes.

And while crystal meth has been highly publicized as a growing problem
for B.C.'s big cities, a local addictions expert says smaller
communities - including Penticton - need to become more aware of their
own problems with the drug.

"Crystal meth is huge," said Jeanni Jones, agency director of Pathways
Addictions Resource Centre in Penticton. "It's the most recent, easy,
quick-to-get drug. It's a large - and growing - problem."

Methamphetamine - known as crystal meth in its smokeable rock form -
acts as a stimulant to the central nervous system, often used with
other substances such as cocaine and alcohol.

Often called jib, ice, chalk, crank or glass, the street drug is
produced and sold illegally in pill form, capsules, powder or chunks.

It can cause a wide range of short term effects including a sense of
well-being and increased alertness, as well as paranoia,
visual-auditory hallucinations and convulsions.

In 1999, Pathways - a non-profit, provincial-government-funded society
that provides counselling and referrals for clients with drug and
and/or alcohol abuse or related problems - recorded seeing only one
client regarding amphetamine use, said Jones. Today, she says the
centre averages almost 100 people per year.

Altogether, the centre sees 600 clients per year - and this is a small
town, said Jones.

In Kelowna, dealing with crystal meth was the topic for a recent
community forum, which brought together members of the community with
health service providers and drug and addictions experts, including
Kenneth Tupper from the Problematic Substance Use prevention area of
the B.C. Ministry of Health Services, drug policy advisor Donald
MacPherson of the City of Vancouver, Central Okanagan Four Pillars
Coalition chair Shelley Cook and Dr. Darryl Inaba of Haight Ashbury
Drug Clinics in San Francisco.

Dr. Inaba was the creator of the first modern-day free clinic - opened
in San Francisco in the mid-60's - and has a lot of experience dealing
with crystal meth use and subsequent problems in communities.

"Meth in any form creates a tremendous feeling of pleasure and joy-so
it's quickly seduced a lot of people into using it," said Dr. Inaba.

Methamphetamines stimulate the central nervous system and release
chemicals naturally found in the body - but in irregularly large
amounts, he said.

"The depletion of these chemicals causes paranoia and depression, and
eventually the inability to experience pleasure," he added. He likened
methamphetamine to a loan shark, loaning addicts their own abilities
to feel good.