METH: THE NEXT EPIDEMIC?

Like storm clouds moving in over the mountains, a drug epidemic is looming
over the Lower Mainland, destined to hit the region with gale force. And
although showers have already started, police warn the worst is yet to come.

The black cloud is methamphetamine, a highly addictive central nervous
system stimulant that can be manufactured in a bathroom using legally
purchased chemicals and drugs. It can be smoked, snorted, injected or
swallowed.

Methamphetamine - also known as meth, speed, ice, crystal, crank, among
other names - produces temporary hyperactivity, euphoria and the feeling of
increased energy. A high can last as long as eight hours.

But longtime users' experiences with the drug are different and anything
but euphoric.

They deal with a psychosis similar to schizophrenia, resulting in paranoia,
picking at the skin, self-absorption and hallucinations. The irritability
and paranoia produces the potential for violence among users, according to
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). And because the drug is a
neurotoxin, it can cause brain damage. Other side effects include premature
aging, teeth rot, hair loss and heart damage.

Cops that work in drug enforcement call it "a very ugly drug."

And like Greater Vancouver's wet weather, there appears to be no stopping
meth from becoming the future drug of choice in the Lower Mainland, they say.

"We can probably expect something similar to what we experienced with
(crack) cocaine. It could be worse, we can only guess," says Insp. Mike
Littlejohn with the Organized Crime Agency (OCA) of B.C. "Is it as popular
as heroin or cocaine right now? No, but it's moving rapidly in that direction."

"It's an ugly drug. It's very, very addictive and has almost no
recreational use whatsoever. Anyone who thinks they can use it occasionally
on a Friday or Saturday night is quickly mistaken," says Corp. Doug Culver,
who also works with the OCA.

Most Canadian police intelligence on the meth drug trade comes from what
the Americans have experienced and are still going through. That
information makes Littlejohn fearful for the future.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency sees meth as "the fastest growing threat
in America today." In California, where the drug trade is most active,
nearly 3,000 meth labs were discovered in 1999.

Expect a similar scenario here, says Littlejohn.

In the last two months, police in Canada have been involved in two major
meth investigations resulting in arrests and seizures. In January, RCMP
working with American drug enforcement agencies made more than 100 arrests
in both countries. Labs in California and Canada were busted, leading to
the seizure of meth and its precursors.

Earlier this month, Calgary Police, the RCMP and the OCA arrested 14
individuals and discovered labs in Kelowna, Chilliwack, Abbotsford and Surrey.

The OCA, in a press conference last week, said those arrested in the B.C.
investigation all have ties to outlaw motorcycle gangs.

The potential to make profit will fuel this drug trade, said Littlejohn,
who expects organized crime to play a major hand in the production and
distribution of the drug.

There is that potential when you consider a pound of marijuana is worth
$2,500 to $2,800 but a pound of meth is priced at $12,000.