Crystal
meth is not like other drugs. Users actually feel like
they're in control. Just ask Lena, a 23-year-old dance
student from Kelowna, BC. She's never touched the stuff,
but unfortunately she can't say the same for her high
school sweetheart — and now ex-husband.
"He used to be straight-edge,"
she says, referring to a movement where kids pledge
to steer clear of drugs, cigarettes and alcohol. "He
even had a straight-edge tattoo."
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Meth nation
Last August, the federal government
toughened its stance on the meth problem, increasing
maximum sentences for trafficking, production
and possession of the drug.
BC: Gordon Campbell's
Liberals have yet to introduce laws to curtail
pseudoephedrine sales. The government did earmark
$7 million to create new community programs to
fight the meth problem.
The prairies: Between
November and December of last year, the provincial
legis-latures for Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta
all introduced moderate pseudoephedrine controls:
moving cold meds behind the counter, charging
pharmacists with the role of gatekeeper.
Ontario: The province
is considering pseudoephedrine controls and has
appointed Det. Supt. Frank Elbers to head a task
force to investigate the problem.
Quebec: Authorities believe
meth is still but a minor pro-b-lem in la belle
province. However last August, Montreal MD Dr
Richard LeBlanc told CTV that the drug is catching
on and that he's seen a rise in meth addict patients.
Atlantic Canada: The
east coast crystal meth problem is still in its
infancy, but this month Nova Scotia NDP Justice
Critic Kevin Deveaux urged the governing Tories
to introduce pseudoephedrine control laws.
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The young couple married soon after
high school and that's when their troubles began. "He
went to a dance party after working all day tree planting,"
she recalls. "This guy noticed him yawning, so he offered
him a 'bump' of meth." Within a month, the once-affable,
hard-working love of Lena's life was an unrecognizable
monster. "He started to hit me. He started stealing,"
she says. "When he started cheating on me, I knew I
had to divorce him."
If you've yet to see patients like
Lena's ex, brace yourself. Methamphetamine abuse is
on the rise, and it's hitting Canada's small towns and
big cities alike.
METH
ON THE MARCH
Methamphetamine abuse first reared its ugly head on
the west coast, but it's now a growing problem nationwide.
Vancouver has a well-established crystal meth-using
community, as does Toronto. In Montreal, however, meth
has yet to catch on. A weaker, biker gang-controlled
amphetamine called "peaches" is de rigueur among local
pill poppers instead. There, it seems meth use is eschewed,
not for its dangers, but because it's seen as gauche.
Crystal meth's rise in popularity
is related to supply: local dealers can make it themselves.
Becoming a cocaine or heroin magnate involves border
crossings and roguish international criminals. But all
it takes to set up a meth lab is a modicum of chemistry
know-how, a quick trip to the pharmacy and the hardware
store, some dangerous mixing and voila — a huge
batch of drugs that can be sold on the street at almost
pure profit.
Advice for fledgling meth makers
is shockingly easy to find. A quick Google search will
yield sites where underground chemists can find everything
they need to know to get started. Some digging reveals
that the site is registered to one Gary Bense —
likely an alias — in the affluent town of Orcas,
WA, a mere hop, skip and jump away from the Canadian
border.
The US is fighting its own war
on meth. Thirty-seven states — Illinois is the
latest — have passed laws that force pharmacists
to ID and log the names of customers buying pseudoephedrine
— a key ingredient in both methamphe-tamine and
many OTC cold meds — and set limits on how much
individuals can purchase.
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