Senator Charles Schumer, citing the fact that the area has seen a dramatic decrease in meth labs, is calling on the Drug Enforcement Administration to step up its efforts to combat meth moving in from Canada. He says drug labs have increased there, and he wants more agents on the border. Schumer is also asking Canada to implement more stringent laws.
"It would be a darn shame if all the progress we have made in Central New York and in Upstate New York against crystal meth would be undone," said Schumer.
"We have enough trouble with the existing drugs now. We don't need another one on top of everything else," said Robert Whitney, the Clinical Director of Addiction Services at ECMC.
Whitney says that most of the people they see who have problems with methamphetamine have returned to Buffalo to get help. He says they have come from places like the west coast where meth is a more prevalent problem.
"Folks can really get into trouble with persistent depression, persistent psychosis, serious weight loss problems, malnutrition and other things," added Whitney.
Schumer also calling for an education campaign about the drug for students.
"Crack reared its head in the mid 80's nobody did anything. By the early 90's it as an epidemic and it took a long time to lower the use of crack. We don't want to let that happen with meth," added Schumer.
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