PROVINCE TARGETS METH

Solicitor General Pushes Controls Of Certain Chemicals To Fight Scourge

To head off an explosion of crystal meth trafficking, Alberta's solicitor
general is calling for a crackdown on a popular cold remedy and chemicals
used to produce the potent drug.

Fresh from a three-day U.S. information tour on the scourge of
methamphetamine, Heather Forsyth is pushing to criminalize the possession
of certain chemicals.

And Forsyth said she'd also meet with the pharmaceutical industry in hopes
the sale of Sudafed will be monitored and restricted voluntarily by retailers.

"If people are buying 100 packs of Sudafed, they've either got a hell of a
headache, or they're cooking (crystal meth)," said Forsyth.

Hearing first-hand the horrors of methamphetamine production and use in the
U.S. has convinced her of the need to be more pro-active in stemming its
spread here, she said.

ALBERTA AT FOREFRONT OF FIGHT

And the province's creation of a task force, to bring together a wide range
of stakeholders to fight the drug, has put Alberta ahead of other
jurisdictions, said Forsyth.

"We're at the forefront, absolutely -- (The Americans) said without
question, we're well ahead," she said in an interview yesterday.

But police in Alberta have voiced strong fears the highly-addictive form of
speed will soon ravage the province's larger cities.

Forsyth herself said the concerns have some merit, citing the alarms raised
by mayors of smaller centres who report a growing number of crystal meth
labs in their areas.

"We have a problem with crystal meth, a problem with labs and it's growing.

"You're always playing mental gymnastics to keep ahead of it," she added.

Of particular concern, she said, are children of users or of those who cook
up the substance -- an extremely toxic, flammable process.

"(In the U.S.), we saw pictures of this little girl who'd been severely
burned by the chemicals.

" It's very sad."

"We have to send a clear message to the meth users and labs we won't stand
for it."