Pubdate: Wed, 29 Dec 2004
Source: Vancouver Courier (CN BC)
Copyright: 2004 Vancouver Courier
Contact:  http://www.vancourier.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/474
Author: Mike Howell, Staff writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

CRYSTAL METH ADDING TO WEST END WOES

Hire more police, create better services for the homeless and the addicted 
and stop kicking people off welfare.

That's how to prevent some of the drug dealing and break-ins from 
continuing in the Bute and Davie neighbourhood, says the manager of 
Hamburger Mary's.

George Adams has worked for the popular West End diner for 10 years and has 
noticed an increase both in crime and drug activity on the street. The 
diner's bathroom has also been used by addicts to inject drugs, he said.

Adams points to the police's crackdown on drug dealers in the Downtown 
Eastside, which began almost two years ago, as a reason for the problems in 
the neighbourhood.

"They've all come here," he said.

The diner is located on the southwest corner of Bute and Davie, a corner 
known to many residents and police as "crystal corner" because of the 
prevalence of crystal methamphetamine along the strip.

When the Courier visited the corner Wednesday morning, no visible drug 
dealing was occurring, but there were people loitering in alleys, some of 
them leaning into a car with blacked-out windows.

Adams said he's witnessed drug deals at all times of the day. On his way to 
work last week, he heard one woman threaten to kill another woman after she 
got her crack pipe wet in the rain, he said.

He also showed the Courier a surveillance tape of a man breaking into a 
metal barricade at the back of the diner to steal food, worth about $200.

He's the same man who broke in about two months ago and stole $400 worth of 
food, including 10 cans of olive oil. Adams has a tape of the Dec. 7 crime 
and is waiting for police to pick it up. "I know it's petty theft, but it 
cuts into the bottom line of everything," he said.

Business has dropped by about 20 per cent from two years ago, with fewer 
customers wanting to "walk the gauntlet" of dealers, addicts and 
panhandlers in the early morning hours, he said.

Hamburger Mary's is open until 3 a.m., Monday to Thursday, and until 4 a.m. 
on Friday and Saturday. In a recent early morning walkabout with city 
officials, the Courier witnessed several people sleeping on the street in 
front of the convenience store, next door to the diner.

Const. Sarah Bloor, a media liaison officer for the Vancouver police 
department, said police recently ran an undercover operation in downtown 
Vancouver to crack down on addicts breaking into residences and vehicles.

A combined force of 36 police and security guards launched Project Grinch 
Dec. 13, which ran over four days and led to 11 arrests and 30 charges.

Bloor didn't know if any of the suspects were connected to the Bute and 
Davie area, but said drug addicts commonly break into vehicles for money or 
any other items that could be exchanged for drugs. "It's nothing new, 
unfortunately," she said.

Crystal methamphetamine is such a concern for police and health care 
workers that a conference was held last month to discuss methods of 
reducing its use in the city.

In a previous interview with the Courier, Dr. Ian Martin, who counsels 
crystal-meth addicted street kids and homeless people at the Three Bridges 
Community Health Centre, said the drug is a stimulant that kills brain 
cells and can lead the user to experience delusional and hallucinatory 
behaviour.

The behaviour can be consistent with paranoid schizophrenia, in which the 
user gets the sense "that people are out to get them." That feeling of 
paranoia could lead to them taking "pretty drastic actions to avoid 
people," he said.

Martin said his clients don't want help to kick the habit, noting the $4 to 
$6 cost per dose is cheaper than cocaine and heroin-leading him to wonder 
why the drug is not more prevalent on the Downtown Eastside. "I had a 
cocaine addict tell me he spends a thousand bucks a day on cocaine. It's 
amazing to me why crystal meth isn't as big on the Downtown Eastside, but 
maybe it's just a matter of time, I don't know."

Crystal meth comes in powder form and can be snorted, smoked or injected. 
It's made with chemicals commonly found in cold medicine, such as 
ephedrine. The chemicals used in its creation are more harmful than those 
used in past decades.

The high, depending on the dosage, can last for 24 to 36 hours. Continued 
usage can lead to seizures, strokes, asthma and other health problems.
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