Province Provides $25,000 To Develop A Local Meth Awareness Strategy

Although it might seem late out of the gate for some the provincial government has announced funding for the first step in making the Moose Jaw public aware of the dangers and effects of crystal meth on the community.

Moose Jaw Partners Against Violence will receive $25,000 from the province to develop a crystal meth awareness strategy. The funding is part of more than $532,000 to police agencies, community-based organizations and the Victims’ Fund for new policing tools and programming through the Civil Forfeiture Program.

The Civil Forfeiture Program through The Seizure of Criminal Property Act, 2009, seeks the forfeiture of property considered to be proceeds of crime (unlawful activity).  The funds are distributed to crime related areas in order to battle it.

The $25,000 is earmarked to develop a strategy to inform students, parents, teachers and the public of the dangers of crystal meth and the effects it has on the community.

According to the release the strategy will be used as a first step and preventative approach to dealing with crystal meth.

Crystal methamphetamine or crystal meth or meth for short has become a chronic problem in Moose Jaw.

The drug emerged in Moose Jaw about 11 years ago and then died off.

Unfortunately the highly addictive and toxic substance reappeared in Moose Jaw in approximately 2014 and has become strongly rooted in the community.

Addiction to meth has been seen as one of the main causes of petty and other, often violent, crimes in the city.

“Saskatchewan police services continue to invest in community safety and well-being through partnerships, innovation and collaboration,” Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Moose Jaw Police Chief Richard Bourassa said in a statement announcing the funding to provincial agencies.  “This additional funding provides even greater opportunities for all of us to share in building safer, more harmonious, and more inclusive communities.”

In January 2018 MJ Independent ran a series of stories called Meth In Moose Jaw which looked into meth and its proliferation in Moose Jaw. The series also delved into some of the ways local authorities were attempting to deal with the situation and what now some are saying has since that time developed into an epidemic in Moose Jaw.

At the time the provincial Ministry of Health commented on the stories in MJ Independent.