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. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom