Pubdate: Sun, 02 Nov 2003 Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB) Copyright: 2003, Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: http://www.fyiedmonton.com/htdocs/edmsun.shtml Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135 Author: Lori Coolican Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) FIGHT METH WITH TEAMWORK If Edmonton wants to get its spiralling methamphetamine problem under control, the whole community has to get involved, says a member of a Washington-based group. "Simply put, you need to express a very strong sense of urgency through all kinds of community groups and agencies, because meth, unlike other drugs, really involves the whole community," Mike Lascuola of the Spokane Regional Health District said yesterday. Lascuola's suggestion came a day after Edmonton police seized 2.3 kilograms of the drug - worth $168,000 - from a suspicious car spotted near 53 Street and 129 Avenue. A 61-year-old man is charged with trafficking. Spokane had a huge explosion of meth addiction in the mid-'90s after a cheap, easy method of manufacturing the drug was discovered. Though Lascuola noted that manufacturers in Mexico still account for about 70% of the city's supply, Spokane city police spokesman Richard Cottam said the number of meth labs in Spokane is dropping and no major operations have been found lately. "It's nothing like it was a year or two years ago," he said. "I think some of it has to do with enforcement. We had a major push on it with our drug unit." The Spokane Sheriff's Department stationed officers in stores that sold large amounts of the drug's components, Cottam said. "They even got some of the suppliers to let them know when they were selling unusual amounts of the elements that are used. So there are things that can be done that are preventive and give you an alert." Stopping people from trying meth in the first place is "pretty hard to do," he said. "It has such a high addiction factor. You take one hit and the chances are good that you're going to be hooked, and people just don't believe that." Police, drug treatment centres, health officials and even environmental groups banded together to form the Spokane County Meth Action Team in 2001. It met last month with local legislators to discuss changes to city and county ordinances to combat the meth explosion. "Maybe we should have started earlier, but that's hindsight," said Lascuola, a member of the team. "You've got to get all the players to a table in your community." - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk