A young man lies twitching and trembling for hours on the cold floor of a bathroom. Another picks and digs so deeply at a hangnail that he must go to hospital for stitches.
These symptoms – sores and seizures – were just a couple of the ugly effects of taking crystal meth, or methamphetamine, pointed out at a forum on drugs presented by Salmon Arm RCMP Tuesday night at the Jackson campus of Salmon Arm Secondary.
Cpl. Luis Sardinha and Const. Dan St. Amand, Salmon Arm’s two-person drug and serious crimes unit, told the crowd of about 75, mostly adults, what they’re seeing in terms of drugs and gangs.
Their prevailing message was for people to give them a call if they see or suspect drug activity. A parent asked what she should do if she suspects her child is doing drugs, but doesn’t want to get them in trouble. Sardinha said his first priority is to get people clean and off the streets.
“I could care less about a drug charge.”
Following a video on crystal meth, Sardinha said its use is prevalent in Salmon Arm, behind marijuana and cocaine, and followed by heroin.
In contrast, marijuana is sometimes thought of by smokers as the safe drug. Sardinha and St. Amand disagree.
“It deteriorates your brain,” says Sardinha, noting he’s seen its effects firsthand on a family member. “I can’t stress it enough; this stuff isn’t good for you.”
Another popular drug for young people is ecstacy, which comes in colourful, stamped little pills, and is used sometimes at raves. Because it can cause spasms of the jaw muscles, users sometimes have suckers in their mouths so they don’t grind their teeth.
“I’ve been to several deaths in Alberta,” said Sardinha, noting that people take ecstacy but don’t know what’s in it.
The prevalence of texting for selling and buying drugs has helped police to track down both sellers and buyers. Police have received 40 texts requesting drugs after seizing a phone.
St. Amand said the amount of heroin and meth in Salmon Arm has probably doubled in the past couple of years.
Police track the activities of gang members seen in Salmon Arm, including Hells Angels; the King Pin Crew – a puppet club of the Hells Angels; the Independent Soldiers; a Chilean group linked to MS 13; and Redd Alert.
Sardinha said police attribute the golf club beating of a man in Centenoka Park Mall last year to the Chilean group.
“They didn’t run out; they walked out afterwards and got into their car,” he said, noting the man was beaten because he owed them money but would not provide information to police.
