The number of drug seizures involving methamphetamine is doubling in New Brunswick and the RCMP is warning that the highly addictive drug is being laced with other illicit substances.

Several RCMP officers gathered in Moncton on Monday to look at the latest trends in synthetic drugs. The RCMP are now seeing that some people ostensibly buying ecstasy have actually been sold meth.

Sgt. MaryAnn MacNeil said the data the RCMP has shows the number of meth seizures has doubled in 2008 from 2007, but she said there is no number on exactly how much that represents.

MacNeil said the number of people using meth is still low in New Brunswick compared to other provinces. But considering how addictive the drug is and how many people may be taking it thinking they are purchasing something else, MacNeil said the police must be proactive to stop its spread.

"Right now, we are trying to get the message out to the community about how dangerous this drug is. And how these pills that are being sold you have no idea what you are buying and really you are taking your life in your hands," she said.

Trans-Canada Highway a 'pipeline' of meth

Sgt. Dan Nowlan, who is with the Bathurst and Edmundston Regional Drug Unit, said many of these drugs are being produced in Quebec and shipped into New Brunswick. He said the Trans-Canada Highway near Edmundston has turned into a "pipeline" for meth coming into the Maritime provinces.

Nowlan said in 2005 police were able to dismantle a large operation but that didn't stop the drug trade.

"We had another investigation in 2007 where a group of kids … from the Edmundston area were infiltrated by the RCMP undercover operators and a total of 30,000 hits of amphetamines were purchased during the investigation," Nowlan said.

Nowlan said educating young people about the dangers of these drugs is the only way to help combat the growing problem.