Pubdate: Wed, 05 Jul 2006
Source: Langley Times (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 Langley Times
Contact:  http://www.langleytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1230
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?241 (Methamphetamine - Canada)

CRYSTAL METH STRATEGIES DISCUSSED

Members of the community joined politicians, police officers, and 
experts at a special forum on crystal meth Wednesday.

Crystal meth is not a policing problem. It is not a parenting 
problem. It is a community problem.

And the community will have to work together to prevent the drug from 
ruining lives and taking a further toll on Langley, the forum was told.

"The key to building safer communities is working together," said 
Langley Township Councilor Mel Kositsky, who helped organize the 
forum, held at the Township of Langley's Civic Facility on Wednesday, June 28.

Kositsky is chair of the Community Safety Commission, a partnership 
between several Langley agencies. The CSC hosted the information 
evening in response to an anti-crystal meth initiative designated by 
the provincial government and the Union of B.C. Municipalities.

"The only way we can do this is locally, with everybody in the 
community working together," said Sgt. Scott Rintoul, acting 
provincial co-ordinator of the RCMP's Drug and Organized Crime 
Awareness Service.

Rintoul was joined by Langley RCMP Supt. Janice Armstrong and Langley 
School District's Project Resiliency co-ordinator Barry MacDonald at 
the event, which featured a viewing of the Cold As Ice, a crystal 
meth prevention DVD that was produced by Kevin Letourneau of Peace 
Arch Community Services.

Speakers at the forum detailed the effects the drug is having on the 
community, as its use devastates families, its production threatens 
public safety, and those who are addicted turn to lives of crime and 
violence to get their fixes.

Meth, which is powerful, highly addictive, and inexpensive, is 
popular for the feelings of confidence, energy, and well-being it 
produces -- a feeling that is replaced by depression, aggression, and 
delusions.

It is a man-made drug created solely from chemicals, and as Rintoul 
noted, those who take meth are essentially ingesting ingredients like 
brake fluid and paint thinner.

Crystal meth takes a horrible toll on the body and the mind, he said, 
as users become paranoid and spiral into a pattern of erratic 
behaviour that makes them unrecognizable to their loved ones. 
Physically, addicts can lose their teeth, and their skin erupts into sores.

Users and those who around them aren't the only ones who suffer from 
crystal meth's consequences, Rintoul said. The drug's negative effect 
is being felt in the community through an increase in crime, soaring 
emergency response costs, increased health care costs, loss of 
business, the need for more social services, a rise in organized 
crime, and the creation of public fear.

"Crystal meth is an ugly, ugly drug," Rintoul said, a sentiment that 
was reflected in Letourneau's video, which features Langley police 
officers, firefighters, and users, who share their stories about meth 
and the challenges involved in fighting it.

For the Langley School District, education is an important key in 
battling the drug.

According to MacDonald, Project Resiliency was developed to target 
children at a young age, before they start experimenting with 
substances: "We can't scare kids," he said. "We need to give them 
accurate information that's realistic and relevant."

The forum also featured a presentation by Kerry Jackson, a mother who 
lost her son to crystal meth. Jackson shared her story with the 
audience, and stressed the need for parents to seek professional help 
and support from the community at the first sign of trouble.

"We have to act sooner -- way sooner, and not wait until we are in 
crisis," she said.

Following her presentation, Jackson joined a discussion panel which 
included Rintoul, Letourneau, Langley MP Mark Warawa, Langley MLA 
Mary Polak, Langley Youth and Family Services counselor Lee Davidson, 
Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce past president Bev Dornan, and 
substance abuse program instructor Harald Urstad of the University 
College of the Fraser Valley.
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