Pubdate: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 Source: Terrace Standard (CN BC) Copyright: 2004 Terrace Standard Contact: http://www.terracestandard.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1329 Author: Rod Link Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) SPREAD OF METH NO SURPRISE: RCMP THE RCMP officer who runs the province's drug awareness section is surprised a crystal meth lab has been found in Terrace. "We knew it was coming to Vancouver based on what was happening in Europe and in the States. Only recently it has been hitting Vancouver to any great degree but to have it all of a sudden jump to Terrace, we didn't think it would happen so quickly," said Staff Sergeant Chuck Doucette. In town to speak to students and to a public meeting after a crystal meth lab was found on Lazelle Ave. March 2, Doucette said officers began tracking crystal meth after it began to gain in popularity as a party drug at raves. Raves feature ecstasy, another chemical combination, which does produce a high but it's a high which stifles sexual potency, said Doucette. Drug makers then began adding meth to ecstasy because it enables users to perform sexually, he added. "We found this to be popular in the gay communities," said Doucette. Meth, especially when smoked, brings on an almost immediate high that can last four to 12 hours compared to crack cocaine whose effect can last only 15 to 20 minutes, he said. Meth's cost of perhaps $15 for a hit then makes it a popular drug of choice, Doucette continued. Because meth can be smoked as opposed to using intravenous drugs such as heroin, it is more socially acceptable as people don't use needles and so don't consider themselves as junkies, he noted. The ultimate key to stifling meth use is prevention through education programs outlining the effects of drug use on health and with programs such as DARE which build on making drug use socially unacceptable, said Doucette. He said governments let slide prevention programs in the 1990s and have only recently begun to put more money into prevention. "When I started [in drug awareness] there were just two of us. Now there are 20 and we now have 300 DARE [police] officers trained in the province and it is growing," said Doucette. A police officer for 32 years, Doucette spent many years in drug enforcement, switching to the prevention side five years ago. Aside from his professional experience with narcotics, the drug industry has also come close to home. That occurred when a marijuana grow up was discovered on the street where he lives. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom