Pubdate: Wed, 26 Oct 2005
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2005 The StarPhoenix
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/saskatoon/starphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: James Wood
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?241 (Methamphetamine - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

ACTION ON METH PLAN SLOW IN COMING

REGINA -- Getting the western provinces and territories to agree on a plan 
to restrict the sale of cold medicine containing the ingredients used to 
make crystal meth hasn't been as easy as planned, the province's new 
minister responsible for addiction services acknowledged Tuesday.

In June, western Canadian politicians at Premier Lorne Calvert's conference 
agreed to come up with a plan by Oct. 1 to put restrictions on the sale of 
medicines containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient in 
the highly addictive drug.

Nearly a month past that date, Graham Addley, the minister for healthy 
living services, said officials from each province reported on the issue at 
the recent meeting of health ministers in Toronto, but no agreement is in 
place.

"It's more complicated than it was originally thought it would be," he told 
reporters outside a meeting of the provincial cabinet.

"Each jurisdiction has different things that they need to get approval on. 
. . . So I don't think there's any one reason why that's not being done but 
I think we'll be able to meet that fairly soon."

But Saskatchewan Party MLA June Draude said missing the self-imposed 
deadline is "not acceptable."

"I can't understand why, when there's an agreement, it would take more than 
three months to hammer out a bit of a plan. I think people have a right to 
be frustrated and it sure sends a mixed signal," she said in an interview 
Tuesday.

"Somebody needs to lead, follow, or get out of the way."

Addley said there are questions about the suitability of steps such as 
putting the products behind the counter and under video surveillance or 
tracking their sales.

"Different provinces have different levels of comfort to moving towards 
that," he said.

Debbie McCullough, president of the Saskatchewan College of Pharmacists, 
said she's not sure about the issues in other provinces, but the proposal 
to restrict the sale of the products containing the ingredients raises 
concerns with her members.

Putting restrictions on the sale of the products would be complicated 
because they are contained in a wide variety of products that are carried 
not only by pharmacies but other stores as well, she said from Rosetown.

"Just about everybody in their day-to-day life sometimes buys a cough or 
cold product and we don't want to make a barrier to that. The illegal use 
is very, very small compared to the wide variety of beneficial use," said 
McCullough.

"There are concerns about what kind of restrictions are going to be put on, 
how much pharmacist involvement would be put on each and every sale of it 
or if it has to be a total revamping of cough and cold products."

Pharmacists watch for actions such as high-quantity purchases of the 
products and have been working with the government on education issues 
around crystal meth, said McCullough.

Both Addley and McCullough said most crystal meth appears to be 
manufactured in "superlabs," which are likely to be getting their ephedrine 
or pseudoephedrine at the wholesale or manufacturer level.

With crystal meth use a major political issue during the last year, Draude 
said she's also frustrated the government has not yet acted to help 
families force drug-addicted children into treatment facilities.

In the spring sitting of the legislature, the Saskatchewan Party proposed a 
private member's bill that would see the province follow Alberta, which has 
legislation allowing forced treatment that will come into effect next year.

Community Resources Minister Joanne Crofford promised government officials 
would review the issue while "pushing the envelope" of existing laws to 
help addicts.

The minister only formally launched consultations in July on the issue of 
dealing with addicted youth who are resistant to treatment.

On Tuesday, Crofford said the government was still weighing its options, 
which include custody for youths who need treatment, intense interventions 
that would be ordered by a judge or a more voluntary approach.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom