Image Credit: Flickr - torbakhopper
September 05, 2014 - 11:23 AM
KAMLOOPS – The most widely used illegal drug in Kamloops is a concoction of chemicals from around your house. Crystal meth, one of the most addictive drugs out there, is gaining in popularity in the city.
Crystal methamphetamine started to appear around ten years ago, says Ken Salter from Ask Wellness, adding it's been gaining in popularity ever since.
Salter says drug users in Kamloops are buying meth thinking it's a different drug like ecstacy. In many cases, Salter says the drug is either cut with meth or dealers are flat out lying to customers.
“I think a lot of people buy ecstacy, what they’re told is ecstacy, and it’s not; it’s crystal meth,” says Salter.
The dealers on the street will tell you whatever you want to hear, he says.
"Whatever you’re looking for, that’s what they’ll call what they have. But in general, it’s methamphetamine.”
While all drugs carry some level of danger, it’s the psychosis meth can cause which puts users in the emergency room or into conflicts with the RCMP. Salter says when people seek help from Ask Wellness it’s hard to tell if the person is is dealing with psychosis caused by an addiction or a mental illness. Users with an underlying mental illness could be using the drug to self-medicate.
Salter says the majority of those he and the team at Ask Wellness help out are meth users. One way they help is handing out harm reduction kits, which include glass pipes with a detachable mouth piece to prevent the spread of hepatitis C.
He says most meth in the city comes from other locations, like the Lower Mainland, and doesn’t think the drug is being cooked locally. Crystal meth is methamphetamine mixed with other chemicals, including drain cleaner, battery acid and antifreeze. Collectively the ingredients form one of the harshest illegal drugs on the street. It's highly addictive and once a person is hooked, it's one of the hardest addictions to break.
The Rotary Club of Kamloops Daybreak will be hosting a crystal meth community forum on Friday, Sept. 12. at 8:30 a.m. at the McArthur Island Sports Centre.
Abbotsford South MLA Darryl Plecas, who is the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General for Crime Reduction, will facilitate the event. Speakers will include Marshall Smith, a former B.C. Liberal staffer and recovering drug addict, the executive director of the Phoenix Rehab Centre and the executive director at the Interior Indian Friendship Society.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014