Pubdate: Fri, 06 May 2005 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2005 The Province Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476 Author: CanWest News Service, With a file from David Carrigg WESTERN PREMIERS FEAR CRYSTAL METH SCOURGE Stiffer Sentences Wanted for Traffickers and Producers LLOYDMINSTER, Alta. -- Ottawa should make jail sentences for dealing methamphetamine as harsh as they are for cocaine and heroin to stop the addictive drug from destroying more lives, western premiers said yesterday at their annual meeting. Alberta Deputy Premier Shirley McClellan joined the other leaders in demanding Ottawa control sales of the chemicals used to make meth, and signalled her province will do so later this year. "Our youth are in really quite grave danger" from this drug, said McClellan, filling in for an ill Premier Ralph Klein. "Because it doesn't seem to be perceived publicly as such a serious drug and addiction, where in fact it should be classed as absolutely the worst." The courts conventionally slap cocaine or heroin dealers with sentences two or three times as long as meth dealers. Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert will host a national gathering next month of provincial health, justice and public safety ministers to develop cross-provincial strategies to prevent the use of meth and treat those afflicted by it. "We feel an absolute responsibility to send a strong message to all Canadians that trafficking in these materials with their damage to people and their addictive components must have, at minimum, a sentence equal to trafficking cocaine," Manitoba Premier Gary Doer said. "And we are all committed to taking leadership to protect our . . . citizens from these kinds of abuses." Meth wasn't supposed to be on the agenda, but it became a top item after what McClellan described as an "intense" closed-door debate between the premiers and three territorial leaders. Crystal meth, once obscure in the drug world, has become an increasingly popular drug in the past decade, both in rural and urban areas. It is cheap, easy to produce and causes a prolonged and extreme high. In Vancouver, hundreds of people showed up last night for the last of The Province's forums on the dangers of crystal meth. The event was held at John Oliver Secondary School and featured Kerry Jackson, whose son committed suicide after a three-year addiction to crystal meth. The Province sponsored forums in Victoria, Kamloops and Surrey as part of an effort to highlight the perils of crystal meth. The drug is killing more people every year. - --- MAP posted-by: SHeath(DPFFLorida)