BUSINESSES AID IN METH EDUCATION

A business partnership between two Langley organizations hopes to curb
meth use and labs in the Langley area.

On your next trip to the local hardware or grocery store you may
notice something that wasn't there last time you checked out.

Educational posters and pamphlets on Methamphetamine (crystal meth)
will be highly visible at local retailers who sell materials that are
used to produce the drug.

The Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the
Downtown Langley Merchants Association (DLMA) contributed $2,000 to
the RCMP's Meth Watch Program in Langley.

"We surveyed our businesses. Crime and safety were major challenges
identified," said Lynn Whitehouse, the chamber's executive director.

Last year the chamber and the DLMA joined forces to present a drugs
and addiction in the workplace symposium to provide educational
programs to business people.

Following the educational forum, the two groups agreed to use the
proceeds from the event to pay for required print materials for the
Meth Watch Program to commence in Langley.

Two thousand dollars went into printing of 500 posters, 1,500 shelf
talkers and 1,500 brochures to educate employees, employers and
customers about meth.

"They are educational materials that will help businesses identify the
ingredients needed to make a meth lab," Whitehouse said. "What to
watch for, how to deal with it and how to report it."

DLMA chair Craig Davies said his organization is taking proactive
measures because its members feel a responsibility to the community.

"We feel [meth] has a strong effect on our businesses. We don't want
to make it an easy thing to set up in our community," Davies said. "We
have a responsibility associated to that respect."

Several common household items are used to produce crystal meth.
Therefore retailers selling iodine, acetone, starter fluid, cough
medicine, ephedrine, rubbing alcohol, coffee filters, or paint thinner
might welcome a visit from the members of the Meth Watch Program.

The chamber and DLMA would like businesses to be knowledgeable about
crystal meth.

"We want to curb potential meth labs and discourage anyone selling
meth," Whitehouse said. "It will make an impact on the incidents of
crime."

Langley RCMP Supt. Janice Armstrong told the Langley Advance that when
she implemented Meth Watch in Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge in February
of 2005, the program went well.

"We did get a couple of calls and were able to track the information
from there," Armstrong said. "We armed retailers and businesses with
as much information as possible."

RCMP auxiliary officers and volunteers will begin visiting retailers
starting in September.

Armstrong said they will also visit industrial area businesses that
sell large quantities materials used to produce crystal meth.

The community need to get organized and get lists from the City and
Township of businesses that are selling precursor ingredients to
making crystal meth, Armstrong added.

"This is another part of the equation," she said of the ongoing
initiative to fight crystal meth in Langley.