Pubdate: Wed, 08 Nov 2006
Source: Valley Echo, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 The Valley Echo
Contact:  http://www.invermerevalleyecho.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2140
Author: Lindsay McPherson

METH NOT YET FEARED BY LOCAL EXPERTS

Crystal meth is a drug that has received significant media coverage 
since its introduction into North America in the late 1990s.

Counties across the United States have been reportedly hard hit by 
the drug, which is highly addictive, cheap and destructive. Drive 
across the border and you are inundated by billboards on the 
interstates with the caption 'Crystal meth destroys families.'

While the drug has made its way across the border and use is 
prevalent among street users in urban centres, there is reportedly 
low activity of the illicit substance, use or manufacturing, in the 
Columbia Valley.

In a 2005 survey of valley high school students, grades seven through 
12, only 1.64% of those surveyed said they'd used methamphetamines or 
speed. Of the nine individuals who said yes to using 
methamphetamines, only one student said they had used it more than 
four to 10 times.

"It's definitely worthy of attention," said David Thompson Secondary 
School (DTSS)-based prevention worker Carmen Thompson of the use of 
crystal meth amongst valley youth, but noted that alcohol and tobacco 
have always been the substances most used and abused by individuals 
of any demographic.

Over the years the provincial and national governments have launched 
campaigns aimed at bringing awareness to the current drug that is 
prevalent, from PCP to crack cocaine and now crystal meth. In July of 
2006, the B.C. government gave almost $2 million in grants to 160 
organizations throughout the province to foster a response to meth at 
a local level. The Columbia Basin Family Resource Society was given 
$10,000 toward promoting its Crystal Clear Project.

The Crystal Clear Project comprises three areas of directing 
awareness surrounding the drug in communities. An interactive Web 
site with information and access to resources and professional help, 
a print ad campaign that would be in areas of higher youth 
concentrations and presentations will be made, aimed at addressing 
meth use on many levels, from prevention to detection of abuse.

In January of 2007, DTSS will be hosting a group from the Headline 
Theatre in Vancouver, performing METH, a production aimed at 
addressing many of the factors surrounding meth use.

Meth belongs to the stimulant group of drugs, and was first 
synthesized in 1887. Originally prescribed to treat narcolepsy, 
obesity and depression, the drug began to be manufactured in home 
labs and distributed in the 1960s. When a hydrochloric acid (HCl) 
molecule is added to a methamphetamine compound during the cooking 
process, it cools and forms into crystals, hence the names "ice" or 
"crystal" meth.
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MAP posted-by: Elaine