METH INGREDIENTS ON FORSYTH HIT LIST

CALGARY -- 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.

She said hearing first-hand the horrors of methamphetamine production
and use in the U.S. has convinced her of the need to be more proactive
in stemming its spread here.

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

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