Pubdate: Fri, 04 Feb 2005
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2005 The StarPhoenix
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/saskatoon/starphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Doug Cuthand
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

CRYSTAL METH PROBLEM CROSSES RACE, CLASS LINES

Delegates to the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association convention 
this week passed a very important resolution that requests the government 
to develop an action plan to stop the increasing problem with crystal 
methamphetamine use across the province.

Meth is also known as, ice, crystal or glass. The problem also includes the 
use of close relatives of the drug such as speed and ecstasy. The problem 
knows no race or class boundaries.

This drug has spread across the West like a prairie fire, and has found a 
home in the cities and small towns across the province. When you look into 
the serious effects of this drug, it's no wonder that politicians and 
police forces are so concerned.

If drugs are a contemporary epidemic, then crystal meth is the equivalent 
of smallpox. This insidious drug pushes the mind and body faster than 
either was meant to.

It causes brain damage by destroying nerve cells and, over time, creates 
movement disorders similar to those from Parkinson's disease. Nerve cells 
don't grow back, so the damage is permanent.

Those who use meth experience mood swings, anxiety, depression and chronic 
fatigue. They have delusions and become paranoid, believing that their 
friends are enemies or the police. They see danger everywhere.

People high on meth are not able to sleep, and don't have an appetite. As a 
result, their bodies become worn down and vitamin-deficient, and have 
lowered disease resistance. Organs such as the lungs, liver and kidneys 
suffer damage. Meth users may suffer anorexia, irregular heartbeat, strokes 
from damage to the brain's blood vessels, and even death.

Meth creates an immediate and long lasting high, which can last for eight 
to 12 hours. The flip side is that it also produces a devastating low when 
the user comes down. The need to get high comes after the first hit and 
many young people find themselves addicted right away.

In a recent study, about 42 per cent of first-time meth users reported that 
they had an intense desire to use it again and an estimated 84 per cent of 
second-time users began a pattern of increasing use. There are no old 
"meth-heads" out there. They don't live long enough to get old.

Unfortunately, meth is cheap and easy to produce. A batch can be cooked up 
by using common household items such as old batteries and cold medicine. 
But this is a toxic soup of chemicals and no two hits of crystal meth 
contain the same amount of drugs or toxicity.

Withdrawal from meth results in deep depression and anxiety, making it very 
difficult for users to quit. Also the toxic residue from the drug remains 
in the body for months. In addition, meth users most likely have suffered 
brain damage, so it's harder for them to make rational decisions. The best 
treatment for meth addiction is not to start using it in the first place.

The SUMA resolution is an indication of the concern out there about crystal 
meth. On Feb. 21 and 22, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations will 
hold its winter assembly. We can't ignore this serious issue and our chiefs 
must address meth and other drug addiction problems that have an impact our 
communities. It's clear that we're all in this together.

The First Nations Health Summit will be held on March 29, 30, 31, at which 
time there will be a series of workshops including one on the dangers of 
meth and related drugs. John Watson from the Ochapowace First Nation will 
be conducting the workshop.

A year ago John and his wife Wanda lost their son to an overdose of 
ecstasy. At 9:20 a.m. they rushed to his side after hearing he had been 
rushed to the hospital in a coma. Throughout the day, his brain continued 
to swell and there was no sign of recovery. By 5 p.m. he was pronounced 
dead. This young man was just 20 years old. He had been an athlete and 
filled with the power of his spirit.

It was a parent's worst nightmare, but the Watsons vowed that his death 
would not be in vain. So they began to speak to young people, starting with 
the Kakisiwew School on their home reserve. Today, the couple has branched 
out to schools across the province. In the past month they spoke to 800 
students in Weyburn and about 600 in Moosomin.

"We are getting more requests from schools off the reserve," John told me.

First Nations people are vulnerable to addictions because of the high 
degree of depression among our people. Studies in Canada and the United 
States have found that our rate of depression is double that of the general 
population. Many of our people "self-medicate" by using alcohol and drugs 
in a vain attempt to combat depression.

Drug addiction is a modern day epidemic that has the potential to do more 
damage than alcohol or diabetes. In John Watson's words: "In a time when we 
should be focusing on helping our children grow and prosper, we are faced 
with a deadly combination of drugs that will not only ruin their lives, it 
will take them from us forever."
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MAP posted-by: Beth