Pubdate: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 Source: Desert Sun, The (Palm Springs, CA) http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070113/EVENTS01/701130322/0/TOPICS Copyright: 2007 The Desert Sun Contact: http://www.thedesertsun.com/opinion/lettersubmitter.shtml Website: http://www.thedesertsun.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1112 Note: Does not accept LTEs from outside circulation area. Author: Richard Guzman Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) LOCAL DIRECTOR EXPLORES METH AMONG GAYS As the mostly male audience settled into their seats, some eating popcorn and chatting with friends at the Palm Springs International Film Festival premiere of "Meth"on Monday, filmmaker Todd Ahlberg warned them about his documentary. "For anyone recovering from addiction there could be some trigger moments here so don't feel bad if you need to run out this is not a happy-go-lucky film," he said. With honest, open and at times brutally graphic testimonies, the documentary explores the alarming rise of crystal methamphetamine use in the gay community. Through interviews with 11 gay men from across the country, the Palm Springs filmmaker exposes the allure of the drug and the tragic effects it has on users. "It's (the film) causing people to stop and think and look at the train wreck that a lot of our friends' lives are in and for some people, the train wreck their own lives are in," Ahlberg said. The film, which shows again today, begins with descriptions of euphoria and unimaginable highs as the the men talk about the first time they used meth, some admitting that they miss the drug, also referred to as "Tina." But it quickly turns dark with the depressing and frustrating reality of what their lives became due to their addiction. Crime, sexually transmitted diseases and homelessness are a few of the outcomes for the men profiled in Ahlberg's film. "This is a powerful drug with a lot of seduction and allure," he said. Ahlberg became interested in the subject while touring the gay festival circuit. "At that time I kept hearing about how crystal meth was becoming more and more a part of that scene," he said. He received hundreds of responses after posting an online ad asking for men who were willing to tell their stories. Some of the men profiled in the film include current users like Andrew McGregor, an Arizona resident who, while being filmed, sold and used meth on a daily basis. McGregor is visibly high and perspiring during most of his interviews. He is also shown shooting up the drug with a friend and sitting next to his mother, who thinks her son is clean and getting his life back together. His outcome is not a happy one. "Unfortunately he's at the end of his rope, he doesn't know what to he lost everything, he ended up getting very sick, in and out of the hospital with full-blown AIDS," Ahlberg said. With a drug that enhances the libido, and reduces inhibitions, sexually transmitted diseases like HIV are often the deadly side effects. And while meth is a problem in the straight community as well, and here in the desert where authorities describe it as a growing epidemic, many see it as a particular danger to the gay community. "Most of our new clients do report using meth," said David Barrett, case manager for the Desert AIDS Project. "It's a very dangerous drug that brings out the darker sides of sexual fantasies. It can lead to risky sexual behaviors (like) not using condoms," he said. He said local outreach surveys conducted by DAP in the gay community show that about one out of three respondents reported using crystal meth in the last year. Palm Springs resident Stephan Schell, who also appears in the film, said he moved to Palm Springs to try to escape his meth addiction, only to find the drug readily available here, too. "My problems followed me here," he said. "For 17 years I was consumed by this. From the moment I first tried it I knew immediately I would spend the rest of my life doing it - I knew it," he said. At one point he was living on the streets in Palm Springs and sleeping in friends' back yards. But Schell said he is now sober and working on becoming a counselor. He hopes his participation in the documentary will convince others to stay away from the drug, which still hovers over his life. "I would be lying if I told you I didn't think about it from time to time," he said. Ahlberg said one of the biggest surprises for him while working on this film was experiencing the iron grip meth can have on users. "I had no idea how addictive a drug could be, how much it could completely control a life. The days I would live with Andrew just to watch the drama unfold in his life all because of this sh---y little drug was amazing to me. I had no idea that could really happen," Ahlberg said. "But the point of the film is to get people talking, get them a little pi--ed off to the point where they want to do something," he said.