Pubdate: Thu, 17 Mar 2005
Source: Martlet (CN BC Edu)
Copyright: 2005 Martlet Publishing Society
Contact:  http://www.martlet.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3140
Author: Lindsey Norris
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

CHEAP DRUG, EXPENSIVE CONSEQUENCES

Why The Current Approach To Crystal Meth Is Failing B.C. Youth

Outside the needle exchange on Cormorant Street, a body lies curled up on 
the pavement under a white sheet. The sign says "open," but the door is 
locked and it rattles when I try to open it. The figure under the sheet 
stirs. When a social worker finally opens the door, she says, "Sorry. Maybe 
you can come back tomorrow--this isn't a good time."

The person on the pavement moves and the sheet falls away from his face, 
revealing red, raw lesions on his cheeks. Crystal meth users sometimes 
experience paranoia and the sensation that insects are crawling under their 
skin, leading to incessant scratching and picking. He looks like he's in 
his 20s, but he might be younger.

"You could interview him," the social worker says. "But you might have to 
wait a few hours."

Crystal meth is infamous for its toxic ingredients--it may contain Drano, 
battery acid and bleach. It can cause psychotic episodes and violent, 
unpredictable behaviour. Users can swallow, inject, smoke and snort the 
typically white, odourless powder. Unlike plant-based cocaine and cannabis, 
crystal meth can be made with a handful of over-the-counter chemicals, a 
few beakers, Bunsen burners and a bathtub.

Users of crystal meth cross all socio-economic boundaries, but the 
provincial government considers youth at a high risk of addiction because 
the drug is cheap and readily available.

Over the last 10 years, crystal meth has become more common in Victoria, 
and the Youth Empowerment Society (YES), which runs the specialized youth 
detox program, has seen a greater demand for services. YES has five beds 
and is the only youth detox centre on Vancouver Island. Currently there are 
about 18 names on the waitlist, which means some will have to wait up to 40 
days for treatment.

At first, crystal meth improves focus and reduces the need to sleep. Users 
can go to school, study all night and function well, but Chris Goble, the 
specialized youth detox co-ordinator at YES, estimates that users have 
about a month and a half before they crash and lose the ability to perform 
even basic tasks.

Crystal meth is an appetite suppressant, and users can lose between 20 and 
30 pounds a month, one of the main reasons why girls use the drug more than 
boys. Goble estimates that before crystal meth was on the scene, 80 per 
cent of YES's clients were male, but as the number of crystal meth 
referrals increased, so did the number of girls. Now about 70 per cent of 
clients are female.

"If you look at young girls, there's huge media pressure, social pressure 
and peer pressure to look a certain way," says Goble. "Someone says, 'Here, 
you can take this drug and lose 30 pounds.' I know a lot of adults who 
would jump at that."

In August 2004, the government of British Columbia released a report called 
Crystal Meth and Other Amphetamines: An Integrated BC Strategy to identify 
the problems and outline a solution to deal with crystal meth. The report 
identified five goals: to inform the public, to build safer communities, to 
identify high-risk populations, to increase the skills of service providers 
and to reduce harm to individuals.

However, many people who work with crystal meth users feel that more 
resources are needed to help addicts.

Todd Wellman is head of the Targeted Policing Division of the Victoria 
Police Department. His division works with street issues such as 
panhandling, drug trafficking and prostitution.

"Without treatment and education, we're just the big bad cops doing 
enforcement without the ability to even make a referral and help somebody 
out in the interview room when they're at rock bottom," he says. "They're 
still people, and if they were asking for help we'd love to be able to help 
them--but where do you send them?"

According to the 2004 annual YES specialized detox report, the number of 
youth referred to detox programs for crystal meth addiction rose to 61 per 
cent from 11 per cent between 2000--01 and 2003--04. People referred for 
heroin use dropped to 5 per cent from 41 during the same period, while 
cocaine use went to 20 per cent from 19.

People can become addicted to crystal meth quickly. Because it's so cheap, 
it's often mixed into cocaine or ecstasy and sold to unknowing customers. 
The integrated strategy said that 65 per cent of ecstasy sold at raves 
contains varying amounts of crystal meth.

"It's very rare that a kid starts with heroin. They smoke pot. They drink 
alcohol. It's kind of a gradual thing and a fairly long process," says 
Goble. "But I'll get 13-, 14-, 15-year-old girls saying, '[Crystal meth is] 
the first drug I've ever tried.'"

Acute physical withdrawal--not psychological withdrawal--from heroin and 
cocaine produces flu-like symptoms and is usually over in five to seven 
days. Goble says there's a lot of discussion in the medical community about 
how long it takes to physically withdraw from crystal meth, with estimates 
between 10 days and two to three weeks. Crystal meth withdrawal typically 
causes a rapid swing in emotions, from extremely happy to despairing, from 
calm to irate.

"By day four and five, the analogy I use is their emotions are like a big 
storm--the waves are really big and really close together," says Goble. 
"This is almost identical to bipolar disease. They've done damage that 
makes them much more susceptible to things like schizophrenia."

According to the BC Ministry of Health Services, the number of deaths 
related to crystal meth rose from two in the year 2000 to six in 2004. 
While deaths from the drug are relatively rare, psychosis is not.

A person suffering from crystal meth psychosis exhibits symptoms similar to 
schizophrenia, such as extreme anxiety, paranoia and delusions. Doug 
McGhee, a Victoria physician, says that MRI scans show that brain activity 
and anatomy are abnormal in crystal meth users, which correlates to 
difficulties with language, motor skills and memorization. While scans also 
show that brain anatomy can return to normal over time, the behaviours can 
remain, suggesting long-term or permanent brain damage.

"If we look at the long term, 18 months down the road, their scans look 
better, but they still have problems with language, motor, shifting tasks 
and abstract thinking," says McGhee.

McGhee also says that users can become sensitive to the drug and quickly 
become psychotic again even if they have stopped using the drug for an 
extended period.

"Some people can quit using the drug and use a small amount down the road, 
and immediately re-experience psychiatric side effects," he says.

Crystal meth can make some people violent. Goble, however, says he has 
experienced very few problems with violence at YES.

"We've had probably 750 kids referred to us, and I can maybe count five 
where violence has been an issue. Some of that is the model we're using. 
We're not in a confrontational role with them," he says. "If they're put in 
a situation where someone is saying no, they don't necessarily have the 
ability at that point to function. So you have to use a lot of counselling 
skills, de-escalation. Which is easy for me to say: I'm not a police 
officer." Sgt. Lance Philip from the Targeted Policing Division estimates 
that last year there were about a dozen cases of people caught carrying or 
trafficking crystal meth, but this year there are far more. The police have 
noticed a definite increase in the number of street youth and high school 
students using the drug.

Current procedure dictates that the police try to contact the parents or 
guardians of youth high on crystal meth. If the parents can't handle the 
youth, they're kept in a holding cell until they calm down. If there are 
repeated offences, the youth may be arrested.

"Think how much time it would save if we were able to get some kid strung 
out on crystal meth and take him to a resource centre," says Philip, "as 
opposed to putting him through the court system, where he gets nothing, and 
arrest him again the next week and the next week."

Wellman agrees. "Right now we're fighting the symptoms. We're battling the 
addicts and the consequences of their addictions," he says. "And you can't 
solve anything simply by enforcement."

Police, social workers and the integrated strategy agree that education is 
paramount. The government has proposed programs in schools and the 
provision of pamphlets and brochures in needle exchanges, methadone clinics 
and other community service centres. But they haven't increased funding to 
withdrawal services.

"There has to be resources out there for people who are considering using 
it or are addicted to it," says Wellman. "And there just isn't." Despite 
the lack of resources, McGhee feels that the community of Victoria has done 
a good job of bringing attention to the problems of crystal meth.

"We've had dozens of community events about crystal meth. All the media 
have gotten on it. The street kids are making a magazine called FLAIL. 
There's a video that's been done locally. The minister of mental health and 
addiction created a document for the province. It's on websites." He 
concludes, "Yes, we have this problem, but people know about crystal meth."

According to YES, the number of youth who completed their individual 
withdrawal program rose from 71 per cent to 76 per cent between 2000--01 
and 2003--04. Chris Goble believes that completion, even if there is a 
relapse, is a success because at least they're getting treatment--which is 
why he feels it's so important that beds are made available to youth who 
want them.

"No one sets out at 14 to say, 'I want to be a crystal meth addict.' But 
whether they've become involved in the sex trade or breaking and entering 
or the justice system, they lose family connections, they lose housing, 
they lose school and employment," says Goble. "They've lost enough of their 
soul, and we need to try and help them get it back."
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MAP posted-by: Beth