The battle against methamphetamine addiction doesn’t get the attention it deserves from decision makers at the highest political levels.

A Senior fellow at the University of Saskatchewan’s Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy also says the police and social service providers working together to address the problem need more government support to be effective.

Dale Eisler says a hit of meth can cost as little as three-dollars and its highly addictive nature providing a 12-hour state of euphoria as well as the long, painful and multi-symptomatic withdrawal process makes it extremely difficult to give up.

Eisler’s report states it can take several weeks for the addiction to subside and that is complicated by fatigue, paranoia and carbohydrate cravings.

Eisler says meth doesn’t discriminate, users come from all socioeconomic groups and long-term use can lead to paranoia and delusions which makes those under the influence dangerous, especially if they are armed.

The graduate school fellow stresses this puts police and social service workers at risk.

Eisler supports the multi-sector approach to addressing meth addiction including the coordinated efforts of police and social service providers, but says they need more help.

The numbers of arrests by Saskatoon Police for possession and trafficking have been increasing steadily since 2012.

The report points out police dealt with 24-times more meth related occurrences in 2019 when compared with statistics from 2012.