Pubdate: Sun, 08 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: Ian Bailey Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) CRYSTAL METH: CAMPBELL TAKES STAND Deadly Street Drug: Premier Talks Of His Plans To Fight 'Dangerous Threat' To B.C. NANAIMO -- B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell yesterday deemed crystal meth a "dangerous" threat to the province, promising that B.C. will seek allies in other provinces, Ottawa and even western U.S. states to win the war on the street drug. "As someone was saying to me the other day, this is a very inexpensive drug. It's inexpensive and it lasts a long time. It can be incredibly damaging to our kids, to teenagers, to people who decide to try it," he said. Campbell, echoing the consensus among western premiers and territorial leaders at their annual meeting this past week in Lloydminster, Sask., said the drug is as dangerous as cocaine or heroin. "We have to raise up everyone's understanding and the penalties for that. The people that are supplying it are not penalized the way they should be. They're not punished the way they should be." Crystal meth was the subject of a Province series in April. It was followed by four public forums on the issue in the last two weeks. The drug also loomed large on the agenda at the meeting of western premiers this past week, leading to promises of joint action to push Ottawa to make jail sentences for meth dealing as stiff as for cocaine and heroin dealing. Sentences for cocaine and heroin dealers are now two to three times as long as those for meth dealers. The premiers and territorial leaders have also called for Ottawa to control sales of the chemicals used to make the drug, a measure the provinces, including B.C., are already considering. Campbell also said yesterday he wants to talk to western U.S. governors at a planned meeting on general issues in Colorado in June about solutions that would span national borders and crack down on the agricultural chemicals used to produce meth. "If we deal with agriculture products in a way that works in Canada, they need to deal with it in a way that works in the United States, so we'll learn from one another," he said. "We are going to pull together best practices and best results." Sol.-Gen. Rich Coleman has said this month that his ministry is "looking into" legislation or regulations to limit the purchase of large quantities of cough and cold medicine containing ephedrine or pseudephedrine, two crucial ingredients in the production of meth. Campbell backed the idea yesterday. "We have to create a gap between the ingredients used to create the drug and the public. We don't want to make it easy access, but we have to be sensible about how it works as well. "There's a big challenge, because some of the major ingredients for crystal meth are agricultural products, and how do you deal with those? There are thoughts about registering the people who are acquiring those products." Campbell ruled out following the example of Alberta, where young meth users can be locked up for up to five days, arguing that "it's very difficult with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to force people to accept treatment." Campbell said his government is doing its best to create access to treatment spaces, touting its $1 billion in spending per year for mental-health and addiction services. "The frustration, in many cases, is you can't create the space overnight. You have to build it. You have to open it up. That's what we've been doing. "We've been opening up addiction services in different parts of the province. We will continue to do that. "There's a challenge with youth-addiction spaces. We're looking at how we can expand our opportunities there. That all requires investment and that's part of the overall strategy." Brenda Locke, Minister of State for Mental Health and Addiction, has said there are not enough residential facility beds for drug and alcohol abusers in need of help. Campbell also slammed the NDP, arguing that a decade of majority New Democratic governments did little on the file. An NDP spokesman rejected the criticism. "[The Liberals] have been slow to recognize this as a problem and put resources into it," said Bruce Ralston, NDP candidate for Surrey-Whalley and designated party spokesman on the issue. Ralston said the NDP would double the amount of money available for mental-health and addiction services, with a focus on early identification and support for people at risk, more detox beds for people in need and expanded community-based recovery and support. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth