CHRYSTAL METH COMES TO TOWN

Police Seeing More Evidence of the Dangerous Chemical

Crystal meth is the drug du jour and has New Westminster police board
members worried.

Methamphetamines, which can be produced in a home-based or even mobile lab,
can be bought for as little as $10 for a 'point,' a tenth of a gram serving.

Insp. Frank Ciaccia, head of the police criminal investigation division,
told the March meeting of the police board that he is seeing crystal meth
rearing its ugly head in the Royal City.

"The drug dealers are finding that it's so cheap," Ciaccia explained, "that
they are offering free samples to kids to get them hooked."

He said he's heard of children as young as nine or 10 addicted and that
much of the property crime sweeping the region can be attributed to people
desperate to feed their drug addiction.

Ciaccia said officers are noticing that hardened marijuana and crack
cocaine users are increasingly making the switch to crystal meth, a sure
sign that the drug has arrived.

However, Ciaccia's report to the police board noted that the city is not
yet home to clandestine labs where the drug is "cooked." However, dealers
based in New Westminster have been found "washing" the drug, another term
for cutting or stepping on the drug so that more portions can be made.

Police board member Karen Baker-MacGrotty pointed out the insidious nature
of the drug and how it can be laced into marijuana to get unsuspecting pot
smokers hooked.

Insp. Dave Jones pointed out another disastrous effect of the drug is the
toxic houses where the illicit drug labs are set up. While none have been
discovered in New Westminster during this recent surge, a home converted
into a drug lab contains so many toxic chemicals that police raiding the
house have to use hazardous materials suits. And, since New Westminster
itself does not have its own HAZMAT unit, police have to rely on the RCMP
or the Vancouver city police unit for assistance.

Ciaccia also pointed out a problem unique to Canadian authorities. The
chemicals and materials used to make crystal meth are illegal to possess in
the United States, but not so here.

"We need to be prepared for when we see people (loading up) on these
ingredients," Ciaccia said. "Our people are trained for recognition of a
meth lab." On a related vein, Ciaccia commended school liaison officer
Const. Camille Shim-Ping for her work educating students about the perils
of drugs.

With school-age children the most vulnerable to experimenting with these
highly addictive drugs, Shim-Ping's job is all the more important.

While other districts, notably Langley and West Vancouver, can afford the
DARE (Drug Awareness Resistance Education) program, New Westminster doesn't
have the necessary $100,000, as estimated by Staff Sgt. Casey Dehaas. It's
aimed at children nine years and older.

However, the city has been able to adopt several tenets of the DARE program
for use in Royal City schools and, under Shim-Ping's leadership, the kids
are, in Ciaccia's words, "getting some elements of the DARE program, which
is better than none."

Police board member Dwight Ross, citing rampant property crime that just
recently included a break-and-enter in his office building, wondered if the
cost wouldn't be money well spent because it could help prevent people
getting hooked on the drug and then resorting to crime to feed their habit.

Perhaps the most ominous warning came from Ciaccia, who noted that when
grow-ops started appearing in neighbouring jurisdictions, New Westminster
was home to few of them. However, with time, grow-ops appeared in the city,
a trend that might also happen with crystal meth. He hopes that by
recognizing the trend now, the city can take the necessary steps to
identify and prevent the infiltration of the labs.