Pubdate: Sat, 22 Apr 2006
Source: Richmond Review, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 Richmond Public Library
Contact:  http://www.richmondreview.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/704
Author: Tia Abell
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

'Watching the life drain from their eyes'

Good kids from happy homes can get addicted to crystal meth--that's a 
message with a personal twist from former Richmond resident Pat Johnson.

"I'm a mom of a crystal meth addict," she said, her voice shaking, at 
the provincial government's crystal meth forum at the Richmond Inn Wednesday.

"I want everyone to know addiction knows no boundaries, it could 
happen in anyone's family."

Crystal meth, or methamphetamine, is an illegal, psycho-stimulant 
that affects brain function by altering production of dopamine. It 
can cause long-term physical and mental damage--including permanent psychosis.

While no specific numbers are available for crystal meth addiction in 
Richmond, Linda Reid, MLA for Richmond East, said she initiated the 
forum with Solicitor General John Les after parents came to her with 
concerns about how to recognize meth use in their children.

"Those are the kinds of questions that come to me as an MLA," she added.

Addiction specialist Christa Mullaly, who works with Richmond 
Addiction Services, said meth use in Richmond looks different because 
the city lacks a downtown core--and detox services.

"(Addiction here) looks different, it flies under the radar. But 
Richmond is not unique in the number of people using."

Forum speaker Angela Marshall, an alcohol and drug therapist for 
youth, said the drug began to take a firm hold in B.C. about four years ago.

"I have learned more from clients than a text book could have 
taught," Marshall told the crowd of about 40 people.

"How it's presented, the hyperactivity, the (manic) behavior, the 
sores on the body. Generally it's robbed their souls of what made 
them great people. It's like knowing someone from a child and 
watching the life drain from their eyes."

A big problem is that most of the ingredients for making crystal meth 
are readily available. The key element, pseudo-ephedrine, is legal to 
possess and is found in over-the-counter cold medicines such as 
Sudafed. (Minister Les said he is pressing the federal government to 
make this a permit-controlled substance.)

The second ingredient, hydroioc acid, is a strictly controlled 
substance but can be made from iodine crystals and red phosphorus 
extracted from matchbook covers.

"Red phosphorus is very dangerous and can spontaneously combust, it 
can blow up the lab and half the neighbourhood," Marshall said. 
Acetone and brick scrubbers are also used in crystal meth "cooking" 
or production.

"You really can get everything you need from a drug store or hardware 
store or under the kitchen sink."

The concept of purity in this drug is absurd, she added. It's 
synthetic and typically cut with bleach, lye, paint thinner, camping 
fuel and rat poison.

"This isn't a drug--it's a poison. It's toxic; it kills people, it's 
very dirty."

Crystal meth is sold as a beige or white powder, in glass-like shards 
or in tablet form and can be smoked, inhaled, injected or eaten. It's 
dangerously cheap: a 12-hour high can be had for as little as $10.

"It goes a long way and is cheaper than alcohol, that's one reason 
for its popularity."

Parents or those with loved ones using the drug may notice burnt 
spoons, tinfoil or broken light bulbs used for inhaling crystal meth. 
But burning tin foil and the white paint in light bulbs releases 
poisonous fumes, leading to diseases, paralysis or death.

People who snort meth may develop a hole in their nasal septum, and 
those who inject often share needles--increasing their risk of HIV 
transmission.

While addiction is tragic, a sad fact is that addicts get one intense 
rush, one big high, then spend the rest of their addiction trying to 
recapture their first experience.

The high, the intense energy, euphoria and focus meth users love 
diminishes with every use while the side effects increase. These 
include paranoia, delusions, hallucinations, obsessive behaviour, 
depression, aggression, damage to vessels in the brain and the lining 
of the heart, elevated body temperature, sexual dysfunction and 
rapid, shocking tooth decay--known as "meth mouth."

Users also often get "speed bugs" or "meth mites"--an effect that 
makes them think they've got bugs under their skin and will prompt 
them to pick at themselves, creating infected sores. They can become 
like two-year-old children, throwing tantrums when things don't go their way.

Getting off the drug is challenging as people can't see what the drug 
is doing to them, Marshall said.

"When they crash, they're very sick, depressed, angry and guilty. The 
user knows a very small amount will alleviate these symptoms, and it 
becomes a cycle of self-defeating behavior: they use the drug to 
solve the problem it creates."

Some addicts will recover, however.

It takes about a year off the drug to know if an addict will suffer 
long-term damage, she said.

"It's hard to convince people to quit for good," she said. "You have 
to wait a long time to see the benefits. It's very difficult and 
takes great confidence."

Unfortunately, most kids who use drugs think they know what they're 
taking--but they're wrong, said Terry Waterhouse, associate director 
of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the 
University College of the Fraser Valley.

Waterhouse led a 2003-2005 study examining crystal meth use in 
secondary school students and on the 27 meth labs uncovered by B.C. 
police during that period.

"Increasingly, marijuana is laced with stuff that includes crystal 
meth, so that's a danger," he said.

Meth is also being sold as XTC and worse, in orange, vanilla and 
grape flavoured pills called "Yaba tablets" designed to appeal to 
children. Waterhouse's research concluded that most teens who use 
crystal meth feel disconnected from their schools and communities.

"What we're finding is students who are more connected to school are 
more successful academically and socially."

Kids who use crystal meth are seven times more likely to feel 
education is unimportant and four times less likely to feel they 
belong. "It's a population of extremely disconnected young people."

Pat Johnson said her son was not disconnected when he took the drug 
five years ago as a youthful experiment.

But his addiction excluded him from the health care system, she said.

"(Addiction is) seen as a social issue, not a health issue. We can't 
go to a doctor and be diagnosed with addiction as we can be with 
asthma. We have spent thousands and thousands on our son in dealing 
with his addiction--we really are in a two-tiered system. If addicts 
don't have family support, they have very little hope at all."

Johnson, who is a member of From Grief to Action, a non-profit 
support group for families and friends of drug users, said addiction 
and treatment should be addressed in the justice system. She said she 
feels fortunate her family could afford her son's treatment, and is 
concerned about those who can't pay.

(The province announced a $7 million initiative in October to combat 
the spread of crystal meth use and addiction. The money will fund 
awareness and treatment programs, some of which are in development.)

"When you go looking for resources you first go to the internet and 
there's nothing out there but private treatment," Johnson said. "But 
not only do you have to do it once, but again and again because there 
are relapses. That's one reason why I'm speaking out. It's very 
frustrating as a parent or to have a loved one who is addicted to anything."

Today her son has been off the drug for six months and is doing well.

Angela Marshall suggested that others who suspect a loved one is 
using meth practice patience, listen, set boundaries, focus on 
solutions and assemble a team of family members and health care and 
social work professionals to work out a plan.

"Focus on their virtues, it's so tempting to think of them as the 
problem. The drug is the problem."

For more information, call Richmond Addiction Services, 604-270-9220, 
or visit www.richmondaddictions.ca, www.methfacts.ca and www.fgta.ca.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman