VANCOUVER — Pharmacists across Western Canada are joining forces with police and government agencies to keep the ingredients used in creating crystal methamphetamine out of the hands of those who make it.

The increasing prevalence and profile of the highly addictive drug was torqued up a notch last week when a B.C. ministerial aide was arrested July 1 and charged with trafficking.

While Marshall Smith has denied the charges, he has admitted to substance abuse problems.

Brenda Osmond, deputy registrar of the B.C. College of Pharmacists, said druggists across the country have been alerted to the ingredients used in the drug's creation so they can prevent large bulk sales to pushers.

"We have been in communication with the RCMP," Osmond said. "I wanted to make sure they knew that we regulated the conditions for the sale of product in the province and them to let us know if there was anything we could do to combat the problem."

But, Osmond cautioned, the ingredients in crystal meth such as ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and ephedra and other products can be bought at other retail outlets such as grocery stores.

Osmond's Alberta colleagues joined with their B.C. counterparts Tuesday as the Alberta College of Pharmacists announced members would be moving products containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine behind the prescription counter.

"The college and its members are making the components of substances of abuse and misuse less readily available for individuals seeking them for illegal purposes," Alberta college president Tracy Marsden said.

"Individuals with a legitimate need for the products can still readily obtain them from their pharmacist."

However, B.C. druggists did not detail any concrete proposals on how they would restrict access to the crystal meth ingredients.

The colleges' move received praise from Alberta Solicitor General Heather Forsythe, who is due to meet with B.C. Solicitor General Rich Coleman later this year to discuss combatting the drug.

"We must continue to tackle this problem from every angle in a co-ordinated and comprehensive manner," Forsythe said at a joint news conference in Edmonton.<

Coleman was not available for comment.

Several of the ingredients are available as components of popular cold remedies.

In its March-April bulletin, the B.C. college alerted members to the meth problem and telling them that if they found themselves selling large amounts of those ingredients that they should register with Health Canada, which has also begun an initiative to combat the drug's manufacture.

"There's no doubt that we recognize and acknowledge the dangers of crystal meth," Osmond said. "We're very interested in doing what we can to ensure that pharmacies are not becoming a source for the product."

The mentally and physically damaging drug is easily manufactured in neighbourhood house labs. Its highly volatile nature puts neighbours at risk of injury should the labs explode.