Pubdate: Fri, 18 May 2007
Source: Guelph Mercury (CN ON)
Copyright: 2007 Guelph Mercury Newspapers Limited
Contact:  http://www.guelphmercury.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1418
Author: Nicole Baute
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?241 (Methamphetamine - Canada)

CRYSTAL METH WARNING SOUNDED

Homewood Psychiatrist Urges Community Action

Guelph must do something about crystal meth now before  use of the
popular stimulant reaches epidemic  proportions, Graeme Cunningham
says.

The Homewood psychiatrist delivered the warning  yesterday to members
of Guelph's Chamber of Commerce.

As part of a breakfast speech on substance abuse in the  workplace,
Cunningham expressed concern that the highly  addictive drug is
becoming particularly fashionable in  rural areas, and pointed to
Stratford as one small city  where it has gained tremendous popularity.

Cunningham said community mobilization against illicit  drugs often
doesn't materialize until it's almost too  late.

This happened with crack cocaine, he said, and he  certainly doesn't
want to see a repeat with crystal  meth.

"It doesn't hit the media until very late on in the  pandemic,"
Cunningham said in an interview after his  speech.

"Once it's on the front page, people like me have been  dealing with
it for a number of years.

"Let's see if we can look at it before it becomes a  problem," he
said.

He said the community should develop a working strategy  for crystal
meth, a drug particularly popular among  young people.

Cunningham, who is the director of the Homewood's  addiction division,
said the warning signs can be  subtle.

Someone using small doses of crystal meth would likely  just seem
hyper and "revved up."

But heavy users can become paranoid, psychotic and even
dangerous.

And unlike cocaine, which has a high that can last only  minutes,
crystal meth gives users a rush that can carry  on for up to 12 hours.
Kim Kitchen, a Homewood  addiction therapist based in Orangeville,
said he has  seen crystal meth increase in popularity in the last
several years.

But he said it's hard to say for certain because of the  social stigma
associated with the drug.

Made in rural kitchens and bathrooms from chemicals  that can be
bought at a local hardware store, it's not  exactly a drug of the elite.

Kitchen said many meth users actually pretend they do  cocaine to
avoid the class stigma, but there are other  physical signs that give
them away, such as skin  lesions, hair loss and rotting teeth and gums.

He said cocaine dealers will also cut their drugs with
methamphetamine to raise profits, and many of their  clients don't
even know what they're actually addicted  to.

"It's just poison, that's what it really is," Kitchen  said,
describing the drug. "It's like standing and  breathing next to a
paint factory on fire."

At yesterday's breakfast meeting Cunningham reminded  his audience
that unlike trendy drugs such as crystal  meth, alcohol is one
addictive substances that is  always popular.

Cunningham said as many as one in five adults in  Ontario have
personally experienced problems related to  alcohol and drug abuse,
and that 71 per cent of illegal  drug users are employed.

While substance abusers are generally very skilled at  covering their
habit, they are more likely to make  mistakes or injure themselves on
the job, and may have  problems with their supervisors.

And if an employee has difficulty showing up for work,  Cunningham
said their addiction is likely very  advanced.

He encouraged employers to have employees undergo a  health assessment
if they are worried they might have a  problem with substance abuse.

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