|
BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS
STREET DRUG CRYSTAL METH ENDANGERING LIVES
There's a new drug on the block that's sweeping
the country. It's so powerful that once used, it's got you
for the rest of your life - which is approximately only 7
years. The drug is called crystal meth, shortened from its
full chemical name which is methamphetamine. The trouble is
that the drug is easy to concoct from over the counter cold
ingredients and from products available from health stores
designed for weight loss and as endurance boosters. It is
estimated that more than 90% of people who try meth become
addicted. Its effects can last up to 24 hours, and it enhances
sexual libido. However, even small amounts of meth can also
cause a spiked heart rate and blood pressure and can produce
a roller coaster of emotions and effects, including euphoria,
irritability, confusion, anxiety, paranoia and aggressiveness.
Meth can lead to respiratory problems, irregular heartbeat,
anorexia, brain damage and death. All drugs are a concern,
but, this one causes exceptional concern because the mental
disturbance from this drug is more permanent. A sure sign
of a meth user is the so-called "meth mouth" which
is rotten, twisted, blackened teeth which result from the
use of this drug.
Unfortunately, meth is simple to cook, and
makeshift labs hidden in communities have sprouted across
much of rural Canada and the US, where the drug is sometimes
referred to as "hillbilly crack". It is hitting
hardest in rural communities, because rural youth have less
access to mainstream street drugs. Heavy crystal meth use
began in western Canada but it is now creeping east and has
been found in all provinces outside the Atlantic provinces.
Between 2001 and 2003, police seizures of the drug rose by
50% in BC, 20% in Alberta, 857% in Saskatchewan, 141% in Manitoba,
108% in Ontario and 467% in Quebec.
Because of the seriousness of this addiction,
on June 10, 2005, the western premiers met in Regina to tackle
the problem. They recommended that the federal government
reclassify the drug under the Controlled Drugs and Substances
Act, thereby changing its use from being a misdemeanour to
becoming a felony and placing meth in the same class of drugs
as cocaine and heroin. The Minister of Justice agreed to this
reclassification which took place in August, 2005 and has
resulted in an increase in the maximum penalty for producers
and distributors of the drug, from 10 years to life imprisonment,
and the maximum penalty for possession to 7 years from three
years. This increased penalty was necessary in order to draw
tougher sentences from reluctant judges who have discretion
in sentencing, but have consistently given jails terms half
or a third as long as those given for other drugs. According
to the Conservative Justice critic, Vic Toews, the previous
maximum of 10 years imprisonment was never handed down. He
stated:
The real issue is if you want prison
to be the punishment for methamphetamine … then you
have to impose mandatory minimum sentences. We have to be
looking at, at least two years.
The change in reclassification, as well as
the tougher sentences met with the approval of the US which
had complained at a recent UN International Narcotics Control
Strategy meeting, that Canada was becoming a major source
of methamphetamine as well as the chemicals used to make it,
the same as Canada has become a major supplier of marijuana
smuggled across the border to the US.
Not only is meth a danger to street involved
youth, intravenous drug users and young adults in the club
scene, it is also having a devastating effect on the homosexual
community.
Crystal meth is now available everywhere in
bathhouses. The drug sends individuals on an insatiable and
obsessive quest for as much sex with as many people as possible,
sometimes for days at a time, and almost always "bareback",
that is, without the use of condoms. This leads to a greatly
increased risk of HIV infection as well as a host of other
sexually transmitted diseases. Crystal meth, which is called
"Tina" in the homosexual community, apparently supercharges
the sex drive and keeps users awake for around-the-clock partying.
Unfortunately, meth not only boosts libido, but it also warps
judgment, causing users to lose control and feel invulnerable,
leading to more and more sex with a multitude of partners.
There is also a huge trend on internet meeting spots for homosexuals
to solicit sex called PNP (party and play), which is an acronym
that translates into meaning "sex while doing crystal
meth".
Needless to say, since meth is easier to produce
than marijuana, it is becoming popular with organized crime
groups, who are always happy to participate in any illegal
activity that brings in hard cash. As if Canada didn't already
have enough problems with illegal drug use.
BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS
|
