PHARMACISTS JOIN IN ATTEMPT TO LIMIT DISTRIBUTION OF METH INGREDIENTS

Pharmacists across Western Canada are joining forces with police and
government agencies to keep the ingredients used in creating crystal
methamphetamine out of the hands of those who make it.

The profile of the increasingly prevalent and highly addictive drug went up
a notch when a B.C. ministerial aide was arrested July 1 and charged with
trafficking.

While Marshall Smith has denied the charges, he has admitted to
substance-abuse problems.

Brenda Osmond, deputy registrar of the B.C. College of Pharmacists, said
druggists across the country have been alerted to the ingredients used in
the drug's creation so they can prevent bulk sales to pushers.

"We have been in communication with the RCMP," Osmond said. "I wanted to
make sure they knew that we regulated the conditions for the sale of
product in the province and them to let us know if there was anything we
could do to combat the problem."

But, Osmond cautioned, the ingredients in crystal meth such as ephedrine,
pseudoephedrine and ephedra and other products can be bought at other
retail outlets such as grocery stores.

Several of the ingredients are available as components of popular cold
remedies.