WATCHING DRUG TRENDS ARE IMPORTANT

In Our View: It's Better to Be Prepared for What's Ahead

It's reassuring to know that the Fredericton Police Force is keeping
an eye on drug trends in the city -- especially when it comes to the
highly addictive crystal meth.

Although crystal meth has yet to establish a toe-hold in Fredericton,
the force says it's ready for its arrival.

Fredericton Police Chief Barry MacKnight, who chairs the Canadian
Association of Chiefs of Police drug abuse committee, said the force
has the framework of a strategy in place to deal with crystal meth.

"That's just simply that our drug people, our criminal investigations
people, are very plugged into this and watching what they're seizing
and are seeing and hearing what is happening," MacKnight said.

The police chief said the drug seems to have sidestepped this city
and has crested, to a large degree, in Ontario and to a lesser degree
in Quebec.

In this area, there are just a few odd pockets.

The bitter-tasting, synthetically produced crystalline powder, or
"meth," considered more powerful and addictive than cocaine, can be
taken through the nose, injected, smoked or dissolved in a glass of water.

It's designed to stimulate the heart, increase breathing and keep the
user awake.

In some areas of the country, it is referred to as "the dance of death."

Whether it's the result of good police work or we have just been
lucky so far, it is nothing short of miraculous that crystal meth has
not gained a toe-hold in Fredericton.

When it comes to battling drugs in this city, the Fredericton Police
Force has been using its own recipe, which includes a healthy helping
of education initiatives, mixed with enforcement.

There are also partnerships between the department and other agencies.

Although the police force believes it could use more dedicated drug
officers in its specialized section, it would appear that many of the
initiatives being used to battle this societal scourge are showing
results, even though a great many crimes are still driven by a
criminal's need to get that next fix.

We agree with MacKnight when he says that only a tiny portion of
substance abuse can be tackled effectively by enforcement and will
only go away once all levels of government band together and tackle
the health aspect of addiction.

If we can keep people healthy and off narcotics then, perhaps, a
significant battle in the ongoing war on illegal drugs can be won.