METH ON LANARK STREETS?

Swamped Counsellors Fear Highly Addictive Drug Has Made Its Way Into
Eastern Ontario

It's the worst possible time for Lanark County to see crystal meth
creep into its communities.

Addiction services are stretched to their limits and the local
Children's Aid Society is swamped with cases of drug-hooked parents.

Professionals working with drug addicts say there's no doubt crystal
meth -- the drug touted as the next scourge with addictive results
that will trump those presented by crack cocaine -- is in the county,
possibly being mixed into cocaine.

Suzanne Geoffrion, executive director of the Lanark County Children's
Aid Society (CAS), says the agency's caseload has increased mainly
because of addiction problems, and while there are rumblings that
crystal meth is on the streets, the agency has no concrete proof the
drug has been in the hands of any parents it deals with.

Cocaine, marijuana and alcohol continue to be the main substances
linked to addictions the CAS sees, Geoffrion said.

But Geoffrion said it isn't necessarily the number of children in the
agency's care that makes the situation so dire. She said the most
disturbing trend is the age of the children coming into care.

KIDS UNDER 6

Geoffrion said the local CAS is seeing more kids under six, a
relatively new phenomenon in recent years that has direct connections
to addiction problems at home.

There are nearly 140 kids currently in care of the Lanark
CAS.

Geoffrion said Lanark County desperately needs more addiction
resources and treatment services.

David North couldn't agree more.

North is the executive director of TriCounty Addiction Services, which
has only four addiction counsellors for Lanark and Leeds and Grenville
counties.

There's a "gross overlap" between the work TriCounty and Lanark CAS do
in the communities, North explained.

He said there was a "blip" about three months ago when five or six
people were reporting crystal meth incidents.

"There's no question it's here," he said. "The kids on the street say
that."

North estimates his counsellors see about 500 patients a year, but he
figures the same number of people are being missed because of a lack
of resources.

FUNDING SHORTFALL

The province needs to recognize that addiction programs are
drastically underfunded, North said.

Det. Sgt. Paul Henry, who heads the OPP's drug squad in the Ottawa
area, said rumours have suggested some of the cocaine sold on Lanark
County streets is laced with crystal meth, but officers have not
verified the speculation.

Scary as it is, Henry said it wouldn't be completely surprising if it
was true because crystal meth is more addictive than cocaine.

Police have not made any crystal meth seizures in the county, but they
have been saying for years that it's only a matter of time before the
drug arrives in Eastern Ontario.

"Just because we don't see it doesn't mean it's not out there," Henry
said.

Henry said powder cocaine and crack cocaine are the main concerns for
drug cops in Lanark.