"The key to building safer communities is working together," said Langley Township Councilor Mel Kositsky, who helped organize a crystal meth public forum that was held at the Township of Langley's Civic Facility on June 28.

Kositsky is chair of the Community Safey Commission, a partnership between several Langley agencies. The CSC hosted the information evening in response to an anti-crystal meth initiative designated by the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities.

The goal of the initiative is to bring communities together to identify and raise awareness about drug issues, and find ways to address them.

"The only way we can do this is locally, with everybody in the community working together," said Sgt. Scott Rintoul, acting provincial coordinator of the RCMP's Drug and Organized Crime Awareness Service.

Rintoul was joined by Langley RCMP Superintendent Janice Armstrong and Langley School District's Project Resiliency coordinator Barry MacDonald at the event, which featured a viewing of the Cold As Ice, a crystal meth prevention DVD that was produced by Kevin Letourneau of Peace Arch Community Services.

Speakers at the forum detailed the effects the drug is having on the community, as its use devastates families, its production threatens public safety, and those who are addicted turn to lives of crime and violence to get their fixes.

Meth, which is powerful, highly addictive, and inexpensive, is popular for the feelings of confidence, energy, and well-being it produces -- a feeling that is replaced by depression, aggression, and delusions.

It is a man-made drug created solely from chemicals, and as Rintoul noted, those who take meth are essentially ingesting ingredients like brake fluid and paint thinner.

Crystal meth takes a horrible toll on the body and the mind, he said, as users become paranoid and spiral into a pattern of erratic behaviour that makes them unrecognizable to their loved ones. Physically, addicts can lose their teeth, and their skin erupts into sores.

Users and those who around them aren't the only ones who suffer from crystal meth's consequences, Rintoul said. The drug's negative effect is being felt in the community through an increase in crime, soaring emergency response costs, increased health care costs, loss of business, the need for more social services, a rise in organized crime, and the creation of public fear.

"Crystal meth is an ugly, ugly drug," Rintoul said, a sentiment that was reflected in Letourneau's video, which features Langley police officers, firefighters, and users, who share their stories about meth and the challenges involved in fighting it.

For Langley school district, education is an important key in battling crystal the drug.

According to MacDonald, Project Resiliency was developed to target children at a young age, before they start experimenting with substances: "We can't scare kids," he said. "We need to give them accurate information that's realistic and relevant."

The forum also featured a presentation by Kerry J., a mother who lost her son to crystal meth. J. shared her story with the audience, and stressed the need for parents to seek professional help and support from the community at the first sign of trouble.

"We have to act sooner -- way sooner, and not wait until we are in crisis," she said. Recognizing the vulnerabilities within children that make them susceptible to drug addiction is also important, said J., who created 2020 Parenting as a resource for those coping with addiction in their families.

Following her presentation, J. joined a discussion panel which included Rintoul, Letourneau, Langley MP Mark Warawa, Langley MLA Mary Polak, Langley Youth and Family Services counselor Lee Davidson, Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce past president Bev Dornan, and substance abuse program instructor Harald Urstad of the University College of the Fraser Valley.

Audience members asked questions about services for adult meth users, treatment methods, and the need to make funds available to fight the drug.

The panelists stressed the need to take a multi-disciplinary approach to fighting meth, and to reassess methods that have been used to cope with drug addictions for years -- but aren't necessarily working.

"They are not just meth addicts. They are our brothers, our sisters, and our children," said Davidson.