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Edmonton city police Chief Dale McFee knows that right now, fentanyl and marijuana are the drugs grabbing most of the headlines.

But it’s another drug that has him concerned these days.

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McFee at a Thursday police commission meeting once again raised concerns about the prevalence of crystal meth on Edmonton streets.

McFee said the drug is disproportionately showing up in calls for service — contrasting meth, a stimulant, with opioids like fentanyl, which are depressants and often make the user drowsy.

“You take (meth), you stay up sometimes for days, you go out,” McFee said. “You’re seeing high numbers of car chases, you’re seeing property crime, you’re seeing people drive out to rural communities.

“We need a … public health and law enforcement response to this, and we also need a community response on how we’re going to deal with this.”

McFee did not provide any statistics on seizures or arrests involving meth, but said criminal incidents where meth was a factor saw a “serious upswing” in 2017 and 2018. In 2017, the Edmonton Drug and Gang Enforcement Section (EDGE) seized 6.9 kg of meth, down from 11 kg the year before.