Pubdate: Fri, 12 Aug 2005
Source: Hanover Post, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2005, Osprey Media Group Inc.
Contact:  http://www.thepost.on.ca
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2612
Author: Lori Gillespie 	
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Author: Lori Gillespie

IT'S AN UPHILL BATTLE

Combatting Crystal Meth In The Courts

WALKERTON -- While police throughout North America are working hard to 
combat the surge in use, production and trafficking of methamphetamine, 
there is frustration in Canada's judicial system.

The problem, says Walkerton lawyer Brian Van De Vyvere, the federal crown 
attorney for the local area, is that crystal meth, in its form today, is 
quite new.

"Crystal meth wasn't around when the legislation was made (for the 
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act)," Van De Vyvere said in a recent 
interview.

Under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, drugs are rated in terms of 
seriousness for treatment within the courts.

Illegal drugs are ranked as Schedules 1-3, with Schedule 1 being the most 
serious. Cocaine and heroin are ranked as Schedule 1 drugs. Methamphetamine 
is ranked as a Schedule 3 drug.

But here's the kicker: marijuana is a Schedule 2 drug.

"In the old days, amphetamine was speed," Van De Vyvere explained.

"It was not like this new poison."

With the dangers of crystal meth becoming known, compared to the proposed 
legalization of marijuana in Canada, Van De Vyvere admitted that things 
seem "a little out of whack."

Crystal meth is methamphetamine hydrochloride. It is easy to produce, with 
products that can be found around the home and at a local hardware store.

Ingredients include pseudoephedrine (an ingredient used in cold 
medication), red phosphorous, iodine, ammonia, paint thinner, ether, Drano 
and the lithium from batteries, as well as anhydrous ammonia, a liquid 
fertilizer used by many farmers. It is said to cause addiction the first 
time the drug is taken.

"Crystal meth is a relatively new phenomenon," Van De Vyvere said, praising 
police for targeting methamphetamine traffickers and producers.

But, he said, it's still early to examine how the court system is handling 
methamphetamine cases, because it is still new.

In June, OPP made 38 arrests for drug and criminal code offenses in Grey, 
Bruce, Huron and Perth counties, after a 13-month undercover investigation 
targeting methamphetamine traffickers. The bust netted a seizure of over 
$614, 657 worth of illegal drugs, including 1,680.57 grams of 
methamphetamine. The court cases for those arrested in the bust are 
expected to take place later this year.

Van De Vyvere, who will be the prosecutor for those cases because he is the 
local agent for the Department of Justice, said that he will be seeking 
reformatory sentences for many of the alleged traffickers arrested in the 
June drug bust. The maximum sentence within that parameter is two years 
less one day, to be served in a provincial institution.

Despite the Schedule 3 ranking of methamphetamine, Van De Vyvere said the 
court's view of the drug is that it "should still be punished fairly 
strictly. They know how bad it is," he said.

In terms of trafficking, Van De Vyvere explained, with a Schedule 1 drug 
offence, there is no choice -- it is an indictable offence, and the 
sentencing can be up to life in prison. With a Schedule 2 drug, in 
quantities that are large enough, the punishment can be the same as a 
Schedule 1 drug.

However, as a Schedule 3 drug, an offense involving methamphetamine does 
not have to be indictable, Van De Vyvere said. It is the crown's 
prerogative, depending on how serious the offence was and how the crown 
feels the judge will view it, with a maximum indictment of up to 10 years.

Uneasy Feeling

Van De Vyvere said that, while there are still not many cases of 
methamphetamine offences before the local courts, he is seeing an increase. 
"I've noticed enough so that I had an uneasy feeling about it," he said. 
"But I didn't know that we had gotten to the level where police were 
staging an undercover operation."

Detective Sergeant Brett Mailloux of the Drug Enforcement Section of the 
OPP, working out of the Windsor Unit, led the June drug bust in the four 
counties.

He informed The Post in an interview that making arrests for 
methamphetamine offences can be difficult enough, before going through the 
courts for sentencing. He explained that it can be very difficult for 
police to get arrest warrants.

"It's not like other crimes, where a crime has occurred and you go and 
gather evidence. With drugs, you have to get the evidence by being there 
when the offence occurs. It's time consuming and it involves a lot of 
resources."

True -- the June drug bust in the four counties involved approximately 76 
police officers of the Drug Enforcement Section of the OPP, as well as 
South Bruce OPP, Bruce Peninsula OPP, Grey County OPP, Huron OPP and Perth 
County OPP. There was also assistance from St. Thomas, Sarnia, West Grey 
and Hanover police services.

Mailloux also serves as an expert witness for court cases involving crystal 
meth, explaining the chemical makeup of the drug, as well as its powerfully 
addictive consequences.

Methamphetamine is "true crap," Van De Vyvere said. "It's amazing to me 
that people would ingest these horrible chemicals," he admitted. "I'm 
hopeful that we get some serious sentences. The law is meant to accomplish 
deterrence. If the word on the street is that traffickers are going to jail 
for significant time, hopefully people will think twice.

"When the general public reads about this stuff, they won't be sympathetic 
like they are to the guy who smokes a bit of marijuana," Van De Vyvere said.

He added, "I know we've got an uphill battle . . . but I'm going to go uphill."
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MAP posted-by: Beth