Long-term use of the drug can lead to devastating medical, psychological and social consequences, including mood disturbances, violent behavior, an increased risk of contracting infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis and higher rates of crime, unemployment and child abuse and neglect.

It can also result in a uniquely accelerated form of extensive dental disease known as "meth mouth."

Across all fronts, the economic cost of methamphetamine use in the U.S. reached a staggering $23.4 billion in 2005, according to the RAND Corp., but that doesn't even begin to account for the personal cost in the form of human pain and suffering.

So who should be on the front lines fighting the disease? Emergency room physicians? Law enforcement personnel? How about dentists?

The World Drug Report 2010, launched today by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), says that the number of users of synthetic drugs – estimated at around 30 to 40 million people worldwide – will soon exceed the number of users of opiates and cocaine combined.

“We will not solve the world drugs problem if we simply push addiction from cocaine and heroin to other addictive substances – and there are unlimited amounts of them, produced in mafia labs at trivial costs,” warned UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa.

The agency noted in a news release that the market for amphetamine-type stimulants is harder to track because of short trafficking routes, and the fact that many of the raw materials are both legal and readily available. Manufacturers are quick to market new products, such as ketamine and mephedrone, and exploit new markets.

"It's hard to describe the feeling, but the house is rarely unanimous on things, and to see all the members rising in support of a bill you've been working on for a few months is really very exciting," said Weston. "There were MPs from all corners of the house giving me the thumbs up and smiling - it's a real team effort."

Third and final reading is the final stage in the House of Commons before the piece of legislation is sent to the Senate. Weston said he is working to push the system as quickly as possible.

"Speed is everything because if you move slowly an election intervenes and everything dies on the order paper," he said.

Targeted ingredients in the bill include meth's precursor chemicals, such as pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, which are commonly found in over-the-counter cold medications, as well as acetone, rubbing alcohol and iodine.

West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky MP John Weston once again reveled in uniting a rarely harmonious House of Commons during a presentation of his private member's bill Friday ( May 7 ) that would hinder the purchase of legal substances for the manufacturing of crystal meth.

Friday's debate was the beginning of third reading, the final stage of debate in the House of Commons before the piece of legislation is voted on again and sent to the Senate.

During his 15-minute presentation, Weston pointed to a chance encounter to illustrate how "the stars aligned" to make the bill a reality.

"I was on a flight from Ottawa to Vancouver when I chanced to sit next to a board member for [the Baldy Hughes Addiction Treatment Centre in Prince George], Kevin England, who proceeded to add to and encourage the efforts of the great team of people who support the bill," said Weston.

"When we meet strangers on flights who provide informed support for a legislative initiative, we know the stars are aligned and the idea is one whose time has come."

Targeted ingredients in the bill include meth's precursor chemicals, such as pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, and Sudafed, which are commonly found in over-the-counter cold medications, as well as acetone, rubbing alcohol and iodine.

Ecstasy (mdma) is a stimulant drug widely used recreationally that is also being tested in clinical trials for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Led by Dr. Stephen Kish at CAMH, this study provides confirmation of a previous finding from Johns Hopkins University that levels of the serotonin transporter (SERT) are low in cerebral cortex of chronic ecstasy users. The subjects were "typical" ecstasy users who used about two tablets of the drug twice a month.

SERT is a protein responsible for regulating levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter important for mood and impulse control. Ecstasy interacts with SERT to cause the release of serotonin, an action that probably explains some of the behavioral effects of the drug such as increased sociability.

A private member’s bill from West Vancouver’s MP that aims to make crystal meth harder to manufacture has passed the House of Commons by unanimous consent.

Bill C-475 amends Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to make it illegal to possess, produce, sell or import chemicals with the knowledge they will be used to create crystal meth or ecstasy, and threatens violators with a prison term of up to 10 years.

The legislation, introduced by West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky country MP John Weston Wednesday, passed second reading in the House of Commons 287-0.

“I’m just delighted,” said Weston. “People whose lives have been ruined or whose family members or friends have been ruined wanted something to be done.”

A similar bill was tabled by Peace River MP Chris Warkentin in 2007, but died when an election was called.

The youth survey indicates that 57 per cent of students feel Williams Lake has laws and norms favorable toward drug use ( risk ); 59 per cent of youth reported parental attitudes favorable toward antisocial behavior and drugs ( risk ); 53 per cent of students reported a low level of commitment to school ( risk ); 37 per cent of youth became involved in antisocial behavior and drug use at an early age ( risk ); and 48 per cent of students feel that there are rewards for pro-social involvement in the community ( protective ).

The youth survey is available at www.williamslake.ca

The report states that a significant number of students have high levels of protective factors ( 60 per cent ). Youth reported that schools are doing a very good job at providing both opportunities and rewards for pro-social involvement and that there are also lots of opportunities for pro-social involvement in the community.

"Shrinking the distance" between John Weston's far-flung B.C. riding and Ottawa has been one of the major themes of the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country Member of Parliament's first full year in office.

First elected in October 2008, the Conservative MP said in a wide-ranging year-end interview last week that while he's had the honour of going on two major international trips in 2009 - including Prime Minister Stephen Harper's recent sojourn to China, Hong Kong and South Korea - he has enjoyed the challenge of what he termed standing "the pyramid" on its head and allowing communities to take a leading role in setting his agenda.

Resident in the area of 102B Avenue and MacKinnon Road, near the Fort Langley Golf Course, awoke to plastic and metal pails lying in the nearby creek and red liquid spilling out of some of the lids, said one neighbour.

There was also bags of chemical powder. The Langley RCMP called Hazco, a hazardous clean-up company, to come remove the barrels, many of them full with an unknown liquid.

The pails were likely full of the byproducts of a meth-making lab but police wouldn't confirm what it was. Drug lab waste has been dumped in ditches and fields all over Langley over the past decade.

Any meth-making lab produces a lot of toxic waste that is discarded.

Among the items used to make crystal meth and ecstasy are methylamine hydrochloride, iodine and red phosphorus.

The proposed legislation, Bill C-475, An Act to Amend the Controlled and Substances Act, was originally tabled by Peace River MP Chris Warkentin in 2007, received unanimous support in the House and reached the Senate before being effectively killed by the 2008 election.

On Monday, John Weston, a Conservative MP from West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky reintroduced the bill.

"It is something I've been trying to work with John for the last month and a half; we've been working to get it in place so he'd be able to present it again," Warkentin said yesterday by phone from Ottawa. "I'm very pleased it's moving forward."

The idea for the original bill came when a Grande Prairie realtor, whom the MP declined to identify, approached him and expressed concern about the growing drug problem in the area, particularly the increasing prevalence of crystal meth.

"She was a realtor who had been in and out of people's homes and had seen the effects of drug abuse," Warkentin said.