Pubdate: Thu, 02 Feb 2012
Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB)
Copyright: 2012 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/letters.html
Website: http://www.calgaryherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66
Author: Jason Van Rassel
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)

NO AMNESTY FOR ECSTASY, POLICE SAY

A day after publicly musing about offering an amnesty for ecstasy 
users, Calgary police said Wednesday the idea is a non-starter.

Police said they will respond - as they always have - to calls from 
citizens who find drugs and want to get rid of them, but there will 
be no opportunity for people to bring ecstasy to police stations for disposal.

"Right now, the Calgary Police Service is not considering any amnesty 
with regards to ecstasy," Supt. Kevan Stuart said.

The issue first came up on Tuesday, when drug investigators appearing 
in front of the Calgary police commission at a public meeting said 
the idea of an amnesty was under consideration following several 
deaths involving ecstasy containing paramethoxymetham-phetamine (PMMA).

However, Stuart said Wednesday there had been "some misunderstanding" 
about the service's position.

Stuart said the authority to offer an amnesty rests with the federal 
government - not police.

The amnesty discussion was spurred by eight recent deaths in southern 
Alberta linked to PMMA, a potent chemical that has been added to 
ecstasy turning up locally.

In the absence of an amnesty, people who find drugs can do what 
they've always done: call police to seize and destroy them, Stuart said.

"We will come to you," he said.

Stuart, a 23-year veteran, said the ploy isn't an attempt to entrap 
people - officers typically have questions about the type of drugs 
and where they may have come from, but don't arrest people who 
voluntarily come forward.

"In my experience, and my knowledge, when a family member calls and 
says there's drugs, there has been no charge," he said.

City police and the RCMP are also probing whether PMMA played a role 
in two additional drug-related deaths in southern Alberta.
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