The City of Moose Jaw officially put its support behind the Moose Jaw Meth Strategy Committee’s “Spread the Word on Meth” prevention and awareness campaign. 

Prevention and awareness campaign coordinator Mary Lee Booth and Supt. Devon Oleniuk from the Moose Jaw Police Service represented the independent organization as they presented to city council on Tuesday night. 

Booth outlined for the councillors the dangers of crystal meth and its prominence in the city. 

“I used to work for the health authority so I've seen over the years increases in terms of people coming into the emergency department who are crystal meth intoxicated,” Booth said.  

“We've seen an increase in people who had been admitted to the mental health inpatient unit due to drug-induced crystal meth issues.” 

She said the city has seen a 2,000 per cent increase in simple possession charges for crystal meth and a 2,800 per cent increase in possession for the purpose of trafficking. 

Oleniuk added that crystal meth use has gained momentum in the city since 2015. 

“In terms of meth, seizures are in essence the first half of the bell curve from 2015 until now, and we're hoping that those will obviously reach their point and eventually start going down the other side,” he said. 

City councillors voiced their support for the committee and the work that they are doing in the community. 

“This is not something that is just happening to someone else. It's happening to many people and many families that we know and that we care about,” Coun. Heather Eby said. 

Earlier in the day on Tuesday, Mayor Fraser Tolmie signed a proclamation declaring June 6 to 12 “Crystal Meth Awareness Week.” 

“Thank you for giving us an opportunity and to show courage to be able to speak up, to address the situations in people's homes and don't be afraid,” Tolmie said.  

“Don't try and cover it up because when you do that, you're not doing that person any help.” 

The Crystal Meth Strategy Committee also plans to debut a documentary that was shot locally on June 9 titled “Stop Mething Around.” 

More information about the committee can be found on their Facebook page.

Below is an excerpt from Booth’s address to city council: