'CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER', SAY RCMP

A small quantity of "crystal meth" recently seized by police is likely the
first trickle of a flood of illegal methamphetamines expected to reach the
Valley in the near future, RCMP Const. Dean Maxwell says.

Mounties found cocaine and a small quantity of methamphetamines in the
man's possession when they arrested him on March 1, Maxwell said.

Methamphetamines are already being mass-produced by illegal laboratories in
Washington State, and will likely replace cocaine and heroin as prime
"drugs of choice" on Vancouver Island and elsewhere in B.C., Maxwell said.

Methamphetamines can be manufactured by extracting chemicals from a variety
of over-the-counter medicines and common household chemicals including lamp
oil, drain cleaner and acetone, police say.

Many commonly-used ingredients are more available in Canada than the U.S.
because of less restrictive pharmaceutical laws.

Consequently, Washington producers frequently order raw materials from
Canada for their labs.

Maxwell said there is a "very clear and present danger" of methamphetamine
labs in the Valley, but declined to say whether police have evidence that
the drug is being produced here.

The influx of "designer" drugs is likely related to a growing presence of
organized crime on Vancouver Island in the Valley, according to Maxwell.

Maxwell did not identify groups which appear to be moving into the local
drug scene, but said they appear to be affilliated with "outlaw" biker gangs.

Methamphetamine labs are small and mobile. Supplies and equipment for a
complete lab can be carried in the trunk of a car and set up virtually
anywhere, and a wholesale quantity of the drug can be produced within 24
hours, he said.