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Solicitor General John Les Leads Crystal Meth Forum

By 250 News

Solicitor General John Les  addresses packed house on crystal meth

Call it preventive medicine, a forum designed to educate and mobilize a community to fight crystal meth. Prince George hasn’t had a meth lab identified here, and recent crime stats would indicate crystal meth is not the big player in our city however, that is expected to change.

“It’s cheap, easily available and the costs of crystal meth are enormous and will cost us for decades to come if we don’t stamp it out. It is ruining lives in British Columbia it is a nasty mean drug that is just a little more evil than other drugs.”

With those words, Solicitor General John Les opened up a packed house public forum on the drug which is spreading throughout the province. He talked of mothers and daughters who are hooked on the drug which can kill the very first time it is used.

Les met with City Council earlier today and with the Community Planning Council in an effort to stress that it is an effort that must be coordinated with all levels of government to develop strategies to battle this drug. The Solicitor General says there have to be tougher sentences for traffickers of this drug, and there have been talks with the Federal government to that end. He spoke of more revenue for policing ($45 million dollars) across the province, and another $7 million most recently dedicated to other projects to battle the drug. He says he is encouraged to hear all political parties during the recent election campaign make statements about tougher sentencing for meth traffickers.

“We owe it to our communities and to our kids to deal with this issue”

Education Minister Shirley Bond told the crowd that in Prince George, a 13 year old knows who to call to get a “hit” and the cost is just $5.00. Bond says this is an issue that “we as a community have to address” and likened the forum to the health care rally of 6 years ago which addressed health care issues. Bond says her Ministry is developing a curriculum program that will target grades 6 to 12 and hopes to have the resource materials available this fall. She promised that as a Minister of Education, a parent and a resident of this community, she is committed to finding solutions. "We are not looking for a template" said Bond "We are  looking to build partnerships with communities to develop programs that will work for them."

Professor Perry Waterhouse presented some research data including common factors in meth labs, meth makers and users. Waterhouse says studies show the meth lab is typically in a rental property, and use quite sophisticated equipment. One third of all labs were discovered because of a call to authorities about fire concerns. The study found that 70% had suspects on the scene, they were in their 40’s and had more than a dozen years of criminal activity.

Who uses crystal meth? A study of youth grade 8 – 12 indicated 1/3 used alcohol once a month or more, 22% said they had been involved in heavy drinking (5 drinks or more in one sitting) once a month or more. About 8% had admitted to having used crystal meth, and 7% say they had used it once a month or more.

The research also indicated the more a young person is “connected” to family, school and home the less likely they are to use crystal meth.
Angela Marshall, a youth worker, identified the common ingredients and the paraphernalia so people can identify those who may be buying the ingredients, or using.
Depending on how the user is taking the drug, Marshall says people should be on the lookout for small slips of tinfoil with a burn mark on the bottom, a pipe with a resin on it, razor blades, small cut up straws, needles, spoon with a burn mark, all are signs of meth use.

Mayor Colin Kinsley committed to continuing lobby efforts on the justice issue to see that the Federal Government brings in tougher laws and sentencing to deal with those who develop and sell the drug. The City is preparing an application for some of the provincial money made available to tackle the problem. He committed to the audience that Council will “do whatever it can to be prepared, to be proactive rather than reactive”.




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