Methamphetamine is contributing to a lot of addictions in Chatham-Kent and the drug itself, in some respects, is far worse than the highly publicized opioid fentanyl.
"Fentanyl is big in the media... it has caused a lot of deaths and overdoses," said Nelson Das Neves, a constable with the Chatham-Kent Police Service's intelligence drug unit. "[Meth] is far worse than fentanyl due to the collateral damage it causes -- it is a major problem in our area."
Das Neves made those comments during the Chatham-Kent Drug Awareness Council annual general meeting on Friday at St. Andrew's Residence in Chatham. During a general drug update, the unit highlighted problems for all major substances that have been known to be in the area. Meth and fentanyl are just two of the drugs that were talked about during the meeting, mostly because of the damage they cause to the person using them.
The average price for an ounce of meth used to be upwards of $1,800, roughly the same street price for an ounce of cocaine. Now, it is selling for $600 for the same weight. That has prompted the unit to attribute the increase in meth to the cartel mentality in Mexico.
"You can now get it because the Mexicans have created labs down south after seeing a big market in the U.S. and the North," said Das Neves. "This is an upper, it keeps people up for days, sometimes weeks and when they come down they're going to need [more] and cause all kinds of problems."
Das Neves said he views meth as a more damaging substance than opioids due to how readily available it has become, and the way it makes a person's behaviour bizarre and unpredictable while they are on the drug.