DRUG LAB UNCOVERED IN CITY

A Drug Considered 10 Times As Powerful As Speed May Have Been Under Production above a Half-Dozen Downtown Businesses.

Lethbridge regional police shut down businesses in the 500 block of 4 Avenue South Tuesday morning after what appears to be an abandoned methamphetamine or ecstacy lab was found in a vacant office inside the downtown building.

The discovery was made Monday night by the building's landlord during a routine check, said Staff Sgt.  Jim Carriere, head of the Organized Crimes Section.  "There was a clandestine lab located and it appears it's not active at this time," said Carriere.

"It's an older lab; it's the product and the waste that we're worried about."

The chemicals used to produce both methamphetamine -- more commonly known as crystal meth, meth, ice or glass -- and ecstacy are highly toxic when inhaled.

There is also a danger of explosion if handled improperly.  Police had fire crews standing by at the site where the businesses were closed and the sidewalk was blocked to pedestrian traffic.  Some of the businesses affected included Money Fax, the Double D restaurant, Downtown Merle Norman and Classique Dancewear.

The Alberta Clandestine Drug Lab Investigative Team from Edmonton was called in and a private company is expected to clean up after police removed evidence they may need for the investigation.  Police hoped businesses could reopen today.

Carriere said it will likely be a couple of weeks before the drug is firmly identified but initial field tests could provide a preliminary result as early as today.

Meanwhile, police are attempting to determine who may have been using the office space or had access to it in recent months.

Small clandestine labs producing highly addictive methamphetamine from common cold remedies and household solvents are a growing problem around the province.  Carriere said there is evidence both crystal meth and ecstacy are available in Lethbridge.  In fact, a Lethbridge man was sentenced to three years in jail last June after being convicted of a series of drug charges following the seizure by police of $3,200 worth of crystal meth.

The drug is 10 times more powerful than speed and is so easy to make, police have found makeshift labs in people's basements, garages and even in cars.

Police consider meth more dangerous than cocaine or crack because of its shocking addiction rate.  Users smoke, snort or inject the drug, and 40 per cent of them get addicted after only their first use.  The addiction rate doubles to nearly 100 per cent after a second hit of the drug.

Crystal meth provides a fast, intense high which can last from four to 16 hours.  Negative side effects include depression, paranoia, agitation, loss of appetite.  Users tend to experience rapid and drastic weight loss.