The cloud of crystal meth has loomed over Moose Jaw for years now, but steps are being taken in the right direction to help address this monumental issue. 

Thanks to an additional $25,000 dollars in provincial funding, the Moose Jaw Police Service and its partners in the school divisions are developing a new educational program to teach kids and teens about the risks of meth and to hopefully help prevent substance abuse.

Police Chief Rick Bourassa explains more.

"We're doing everything we can to change the environment in ways that will help alleviate some of these matters before it comes to the enforcement end. So we're always happy and always involved in these sorts of discussions with our partners around the city and around the region."

Bourassa hopes that the strategy will help people be aware of the kinds of situations that can lead to meth use and that they'll be able to prevent themselves and others from harm.

"It's a difficult and very challenging situation to address and we're hoping that this gives us another avenue for addressing it. It hasn't gone away and it's not going to go away so we're going to keep working on the preventative end."

The program is set to be a component of the Police Service's comprehensive strategy to work with other agencies like schools and health professionals to mitigate the continued use of crystal meth in Moose Jaw.

Though it is in its infancy right now, Bourassa hopes that the new educational plan could be completed in the coming months.