'Meth heads' send bicycle thefts sky high

Police say methamphetamine users' urge to fiddle with bikes satisfies need to keep busy

Chris Mason
Times Colonist

Saturday, August 13, 2005

CREDIT: Darren Stone, Times Colonist
Victoria police constable Peter Lane looks over some of the bikes found at a number of 'chop shops' around the city.

Crystal methamphetamine's method of destroying brain cells is well documented.

But police are now coming to a startling conclusion about another side-effect of the drug -- bike thefts are skyrocketing because crystal meth users, or "meth heads," find disassembling bikes and fiddling with bike parts satisfies their need to keep their hands busy while on the drug.

"We've come across lots of sites littered with bikes and bike parts," Const. Peter Lane said.

"They sit in the bush with hundreds of parts just fiddling with them all day."

Crystal meth is a stimulant, but because it destroys brain cells at such a rapid rate, its users are drawn to menial, repetitive activities.
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