TOXIC EFFECTS OF CRYSTAL METH CONTRIBUTED TO TRANSIENT'S DEATH

Crystal methamphetamine was a contributing factor in the death of a man
found in a wooded area off the Haney Bypass in June. The main cause of
death was a heart attack, according to a coroner's report.

The body of John Ronald Norum, 47, was discovered in a tent by friends in a
wooded area on the south side of Lougheed Highway near Thomas Haney
secondary. There was a path worn in the grass leading to the wooded area,
then a known camp for transients.

Police said Norum, of no fixed address, had been staying at the camp for
about three weeks before his death.

An autopsy revealed the cause of death to be atherosclerotic coronary
artery disease - when arteries are hardened and narrowed as a result of
plaque build-up, restricting the flow of blood to the heart.

A toxicology investigation found "acute methamphetamine intoxication" was a
contributing factor. There was .52 milligrams of methamphetamine and a
"trace" of amphetamine in Norum's blood.

"I find this death to be the result of natural causes with a major
contributory factor as methamphetamine use," Anita McCamley of the B.C.
Coroners Service wrote in her judgement of inquiry into Norum's death.