AG STAPLE ALSO KEY TO METH

It's one of the most-used farm fertilizers in Manitoba -- and the best
way to get nitrogen into the soil to help cereal crops grow.

It's also a precursor to the making of crystal methamphetamine.

Agricultural giant Simplot is the sole manufacturer of anhydrous
ammonia in the province. The company makes it at its complex in
Brandon and it is distributed through Western Canada and the northern
United States.

"Certainly, it's very much a concern in the industry," said Tom
Hutchinson, Simplot's environmental health and security manager in
Brandon, about the possibility of anhydrous ammonia being used to make
methamphetamine.

To date, there's only one known theft of anhydrous ammonia in the
province. In April 2004 someone drained 120,000 litres -- valued at
$40,000 -- from a tank on a farm near Petersfield. That theft was more
likely done by a farmer to fertilize his own fields at someone else's
expense.

Jacqueline Ryrie, executive director of Canadian Association of
Agri-Retailers, said anhydrous ammonia thefts from large holding tanks
by meth cooks are small and in most cases unnoticed by fertilizer
dealers or farmers.

"There could be more theft than we're aware of," she said.

RCMP synthetic drug expert Cpl. Marc Samson also said police have had
no recent reports of anhydrous ammonia being stolen from holding tanks
- -- called nurse tanks -- on farms or how much is actually being
diverted into the making of crystal methamphetamine.

Samson said right now, RCMP in the province are spending time
educating officers about the possibility of theft and how to recognize
a meth lab.

Last June, Mounties in Alberta warned farmers and suppliers of
increased anhydrous ammonia thefts in that province.

RCMP said people who make methamphetamine -- they're called meth
cookers by law enforcement -- use anhydrous ammonia in the "Nazi"
reduction method, so named after a method used by the German military
during the Second World War. The drug was given to troops to keep them
alert.

Police in the United States say meth cookers will steal anhydrous
ammonia by draining it from a large tank into a barbecue propane tank.

Combined with ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, and sodium or lithium
metal, they can produce ounce quantities of high-quality
methamphetamine in less than an hour. This method is often used by
independent "mom and pop" dealers and producers using a mobile lab.
University of Manitoba associate professor of pharmacy Dr. Alan
McIntosh described this method "as brute force" science.

RCMP and the Fertilizer Institute of Canada encourage distributors and
farmers to be vigilant about storing anhydrous ammonia on fields and
property.

The FIC is currently putting together a code of conduct for farmers
and anhydrous ammonia distributors to make sure tanks are secure from
tampering or theft, FIC spokeswoman Susan Sykes said.

In Manitoba, the Dangerous Goods and Transportation Act covers the
handling and storage of anhydrous ammonia.

It states tanks should not be parked within 1.5 metres of a building
or another tank containing anhydrous ammonia or within six metres of a
flammable material, or in such a place or manner as to cause a
hazardous situation for persons nearby.

The act also says all valves and transfer equipment should be secured
to prevent tampering.

Ryrie said CAAR recommends farmers and fertilizer dealers use plastic
twist-tie locks to seal tanks instead of metal locks.

She said the plastic locks won't stop theft, but it's better than
someone drilling a hole in a holding tank or breaking off the valve,
releasing a huge amount of anhydrous ammonia into the area.