MORE ADDICTIVE THAN CRACK: POLICE

Cheap To Produce, Offers More Potent High

IT'S cheap to make and the profits can be huge.

Crystal methamphetamine is similar to cocaine and ecstasy, but it packs a
more potent punch.

On Winnipeg streets, a "point" of methamphetamine -- a tenth of a gram --
is $20. It has a reputation as a "biker white trash" drug, but users come
from all walks of life.

Police say it's more addictive than crack cocaine, as it produces a more
intense, more lasting high.

Also known as speed, uppers, meth, copilots, crank, crystal meth, fire,
chalk and ice, it's a powerful stimulant that causes the heart to race,
increases blood pressure and boosts the body's metabolism.

People taking methamphetamine often become talkative, feel anxious and may
experience a sense of exhilaration or euphoria.

The powerful stimulant, which has been showing up in recent years as part
of the club scene, also produces dangerous side effects -- anxiety,
psychosis, paranoia, depression and violence. Methamphetamine raises blood
pressure and can cause dangerous irregular heartbeats, chest pain,
shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. It can also increase
body temperature to fatal levels, particularly during overdoses.

As well, some users can suffer brain hemorrhages that cause permanent
paralysis, speech loss or death.

Methamphetamine -- which can be smoked, snorted, injected or swallowed --
also causes malnutrition and memory loss and it can damage the heart, lungs
and liver.

It produces a high that lasts up to 12 hours, unlike crack's 20 minutes.

In Canada, possession of methamphetamine is a criminal offence with a
maximum jail term of three years. Traffickers face up to 10 years.

The profit margin for methamphetamine traffickers is huge; one meth tablet,
which sells for $10, costs as little as eight cents to make.

The main ingredient in the drug is ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, which
comes from over-the-counter cold and allergy pills or cough medicine.

While the base materials are easy to get, cooking them into methamphetamine
can be dangerous. The process can produce a deadly toxic gas similar to
mustard gas used against troops in the First World War.

To date, only two labs have been found and shut down by police in Manitoba.