Pubdate: Sun, 26 Jun 2005
Source: Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC)
Copyright: 2005 Sun Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/sunnews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/987
Author: Lindsay Nash, The Associated Press
Note: apparent 150 word limit on LTEs
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH ADDICTS TO GET HELP

Government Finances Program In Buncombe County

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Christine Andaya remembers the times when she really
wanted to quit.

After taking a GED test on a three-day high from methamphetamine, she
thought buses were following as she and her mother drove home. She
then ran to a bedroom closet, hid and cried.

During another high, Andaya thought she could copy her entire French
textbook in one night. She once also thought people jogging by were
hopping rabbits.

But last week, 39-year-old Andaya celebrated her 21st year of being
drug-free. She now plans to help other recovering meth addicts in
Buncombe County as part of the state's second government-funded
program for treating meth addictions.

The need largely has been overlooked nationwide.

Watauga County started North Carolina's first program after having led
the state in meth busts.

"People can quit, but they need a lot of support behind them and a
real desire to do it," said Andaya, who is working to become a real
estate agent.

Discoveries of meth-making labs have soared in recent years.
Law-enforcement officers in North Carolina swooped in on 243 labs last
year, up from nine in 1999.

With a $250,000 grant, drug-addiction consultant Leslie McCrory is
pairing with Buncombe County's Department of Social Services to offer
treatment to meth addicts.

"It's prevalent in young kids, in the gay population, the young
professionals, and in this area, blue-collar workers," McCrory said.
"It's really a problem in Rutherford County, where jobs are gone,
plants are closing and there is an economic depression."

Whether it's smoked, snorted, swallowed or injected, methamphetamine
is more addictive and more damaging to the brain than cocaine, heroin
and most other illegal drugs.

It's also unusually efficient at ruining lives.

"If the adults use it, the kids are going to be around it and get
roped in," said Dr. William Haning, director of the Addiction
Psychiatry Residency Program at the University of Hawaii's medical
school. "As crazy as this sounds, the parent won't necessarily see
this as a bad thing."

Many recovering meth addicts say they were hooked after using the drug
once.

It takes meth addicts 12 to 24 months to fight back from their
habit.

Recent studies show meth does more damage to the brain than other
drugs.

A 2004 study by UCLA researchers showed meth causes "severe
gray-matter deficits" in the brain - comparable to the damage apparent
in the early stages of dementia.

Meth addiction is facilitated by a misconception - that it's safe to
use because amphetamines have legitimate medical uses as weight-loss
aids or to treat sleep disorders or attention deficit disorder in children.

"People claim that it helps them work better," Haning said. "It's
sometimes easier for the family to legitimize usage."

The meth trend started in California, where Andaya first tried it at
age 16. "It was totally recreational," said Andaya, who grew up in San
Diego.

"We would have just enough to get a really good high and have some
left over for the next time. I felt good on it. It sped up my mind."

Addiction leads to psychotic or violent behavior and brain damage.
Withdrawal symptoms include depression, anxiety, fatigue, paranoia and
aggression.

The new treatment program in Buncombe County is based on the Matrix
Institute model from California, which touts a 50 percent recovery
rate. The local program should go into effect July 1.

Setting it apart from other drug-recovery programs, the Matrix model
is a one-year program with a 16-week intensive treatment period.

Participants will meet nine hours a week for the intensive treatment.
For the remainder of the year, they will meet once a week for group
support.

Along with education, there will be family, group and individual
therapy.

The program can handle about 40 participants per year. It will be
free, but addicts must go through a screening process, McCrory said.

Andaya's habit turned into an addiction within a year. After a teenage
pregnancy and an abusive boyfriend, she knew she had to get away from
it or her baby daughter would suffer.

She weighed 75 pounds when she left her familiar world of drugs in
California. Bones protruded from her feet and back, making it painful
to walk or lie down.

In South Carolina, she became a paralegal and later moved to Paris,
where she worked for an international company. She never again did a
"line," understanding she had things for which to live, now including
a husband and three children.

Andaya's cravings for the drug lasted 20 years.

She credits her therapy for becoming who she is now.

"That's when I figured things out," she said. "I had to change my
thinking patterns."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin