Pubdate: Mon, 09 Feb 2004 Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB) Copyright: 2004, Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: http://www.fyiedmonton.com/htdocs/edmsun.shtml Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135 Author: Keith Bradford Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) COMMUNITIES FIGHT BACK Methamphetamine has left its mark all over rural Alberta. But some of the communities hardest hit by the highly addictive drug are fighting back. "We made a decision here that it's not acceptable and we are doing something about it," said Drayton Valley Mayor Moe Hamdon, who said meth is now the drug of choice among young people in the town 138 km southwest of Edmonton. "We want to choke off the supply line." To do that, the town has hired two extra RCMP officers to help tackle the problem head-on. They're due to start work shortly. "There's money to be made in drugs and there's very little risk of criminal charges. Right now I think a lot of (people) think of it as a great business opportunity." Hamdon has been among those leading the call for Canada's chemical control laws to be strengthened. An exhaustive lobbying strategy has taken him to municipal organizations, provincial politicians and even the Prime Minister's Office. Camrose Mayor Norm Mayer said he supports Hamdon's efforts. His city, 94 km southeast of Edmonton, has its own police force to deal with the problem - but it's up against the same challenges as almost every other town in Alberta. "When you do get these guys with a lab there should be some consequences," said Mayer. "The enforcement is one thing, but the prosecution has to have some tools to work with." Kerry Laberge, chairman of the Camrose-based Drug Response Task Force - which is co-ordinating a community strategy to deal with meth - said the scale of the problem is "under-reported, under-represented." "How big is the problem? I stopped counting last year after 400 kids that I personally sat down with and talked to about it," he said. "We are on the down side of a third wave, waiting for it to end. "If we can get the federal government to put in these chemical precursor changes, that, in effect, should do a lot in reducing the availability of the product. It will make it harder for the manufacturers." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom