CRYSTAL METH DECISION A DISAPPOINTMENT

Re: Conference to tackle crystal meth, Sept. 23, 2004

As a mother of a crystal meth addict, I am pleased to hear that a three-day
conference to tackle the crystal meth problem is scheduled for Nov. 15-17.

However, I am disappointed with Solicitor-General Rich Coleman's decision
to not push pharmacists to restrict ephedrine and pseudoephedrine,
ingredients used in the production of crystal meth, by restricting volumes
and placing them behind the counter.

If crystal meth is highly addictive, causes all kinds of health and social
problems, and the production of the drug is "dangerous and highly
volatile," our first concern must be immediate harm reduction.

If the producers of crystal meth have difficulty purchasing the
ingredients, many of our children might not be exposed to the drug in the
first place.

Coleman states that moving these ingredients behind the counter is a
simplistic solution. Instead, Coleman would like to implement a more
complex strategy that entails setting up a 1-800 line so drugstore
employees can report suspicious purchases.

Where will the police resources come from to follow-up on these calls when
they are already overstretched and unable to effectively deal with existing
drug issues? And who will ensure that all drugstore owners will implement
such a plan?

When your son is suffering from addiction and its many consequences, it is
difficult to understand why a complex solution, such as one Coleman
proposes, is more favourable to the simplistic solution of restricting the
ingredients used to make a drug that is highly toxic and addictive.

Dorothy Fitch, Vancouver