VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - Canadian police on Sunday disputed claims by the U.S. drug czar about organized crime rings in Canada dumping dangerous, methamphetamine-laced ecstasy into the United States.
John Walters, who heads the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, recently released a statement warning public health and safety officials of the dangers posed by turbo-charged ecstasy from Canada.
The head of the national drug branch of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said Sunday that he did not know why Walters would issue the statement without checking facts with Canadian officials.
"I shook my head when I read the release that they put out," said RCMP Superintendent Paul Nadeau.
Walters' office did not immediately return a call seeking comment Sunday.
The statement issued earlier this month warns public health officials about a "dangerous new drug threat coming from Canada." Walters said that progress in limiting ecstasy availability is in "jeopardy of being rolled back by Canadian criminal organizations."
Nadeau said there's nothing new about ecstasy being laced with methamphetamine or other stimulants and that it has been happening for the last decade.
He said that while the RCMP is concerned about drugs being smuggled into the United States, he disputes information in the release that said the production capacity of the drug is more than 2 million tablets weekly.
"We have no idea where they came up with that," Nadeau said.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
