COMMUNITIES FIGHT BACK

Methamphetamine has left its mark all over rural Alberta. But some of the
communities hardest hit by the highly addictive drug are fighting back.

"We made a decision here that it's not acceptable and we are doing
something about it," said Drayton Valley Mayor Moe Hamdon, who said meth is
now the drug of choice among young people in the town 138 km southwest of
Edmonton. "We want to choke off the supply line."

To do that, the town has hired two extra RCMP officers to help tackle the
problem head-on. They're due to start work shortly.

"There's money to be made in drugs and there's very little risk of criminal
charges. Right now I think a lot of (people) think of it as a great
business opportunity."

Hamdon has been among those leading the call for Canada's chemical control
laws to be strengthened. An exhaustive lobbying strategy has taken him to
municipal organizations, provincial politicians and even the Prime
Minister's Office.

Camrose Mayor Norm Mayer said he supports Hamdon's efforts. His city, 94 km
southeast of Edmonton, has its own police force to deal with the problem -
but it's up against the same challenges as almost every other town in Alberta.

"When you do get these guys with a lab there should be some consequences,"
said Mayer. "The enforcement is one thing, but the prosecution has to have
some tools to work with."

Kerry Laberge, chairman of the Camrose-based Drug Response Task Force -
which is co-ordinating a community strategy to deal with meth - said the
scale of the problem is "under-reported, under-represented."

"How big is the problem? I stopped counting last year after 400 kids that I
personally sat down with and talked to about it," he said. "We are on the
down side of a third wave, waiting for it to end.

"If we can get the federal government to put in these chemical precursor
changes, that, in effect, should do a lot in reducing the availability of
the product. It will make it harder for the manufacturers."