EDITORIAL -- ARM YOURSELF WITH KNOWLEDGE AGAINST METH

It's time to take our heads out of the sand and face a problem that most
other communities have already become aware of - crystal meth.

Melfort Journal -- It's time to take our heads out of the sand and face a
problem that most other communities have already become aware of - crystal
meth.

While the drug is nowhere near as prevalent in Melfort as other major
cities, the drug does exist in town as arrests by the local RCMP have proven.

As Mayor Darrell Collins pointed out, this issue needs to be tackled from a
variety of angles, the most important of which is public education.

It's doubtful that most parents are truly aware of the dangers the drug can
pose, the highly addictive qualities it possesses, or the ease in which the
drug can be manufactured.

Even less likely, is if parents are aware of what they can do if they
suspect their child is meddling with this dangerous drug. Who can they turn
to? What form of help or support is available? We don't know, so it's
certain that parents do not either.

One troubling fact surrounding crystal meth is Saskatchewan's lack of
resources directed towards enforcement, education and counselling.

Other provinces, such as Alberta and B.C. are pumping more and more funding
into the problem and are passing legislation marked at making the
ingredients difficult to acquire.

When speaking with the Saskatchewan College of Pharmacists recently, it was
shocking to hear the lack of information that their head honcho had on the
subject.

If the Registrar of the college does not know all the information about
products sold in pharmacies around the province, it would only make sense
that pharmacists' themselves have not been warned by their governing body
of the potential danger of their products.

The Government of Saskatchewan has done even less to battle the meth
endemic and admitted recently that they have only put some information on
the drug on the Ministry of Learning Web site. Is this supposed to prevent
our children from meddling with the drug? It's highly doubtful that too
many teens visit www.sasked.gov.sk.ca on a regular basis.

Only when this issue is dealt with head on - the first step is admitting
the problem - will this problem reach each and every parent and child who
may be affected by it.

In researching the stories in this week's Journal, it was devastating to
hear of the consequences of the most minor dabbling with the drug. Almost
95 per cent of those who try the drug come back for more. And don't fool
yourself by thinking that only teens and young adults try this menace to
society - young and old, rich and poor, sane and insane are just as
susceptible to the addictive qualities of meth.

As was said earlier - the first step is education. It is one of the only
tools that we can arm ourselves with and it keeps us informed to ask the
tough questions.

Enough of this ostrich syndrome that can exist in small communities - we
must take the battle to the drug, the drug peddlers and the manufacturers.
Without that fortitude, we will lose this battle - and many lives will be
lost in the process.

What if it was someone close to you? Can you live with that guilt knowing
that you never did anything to prevent it?