Pubdate: Sun, 16 Mar 2008 Source: Charlotte Observer (NC) Copyright: 2008 The Charlotte Observer Contact: http://www.charlotte.com/observer/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/78 Author: Amy Wadsworth Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) TOWN HALL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS DANGERS Woman Lost It All; Use Of Drug Is Rising In N.C. High Schools In three years, Sara Silva lost her car, house, job, marriage and custody of her 3-year-old daughter. As a Minnesota girl, she once competed in beauty pageants and had dreams of working in law enforcement. She's unrecognizable in pictures before and after her drug addiction. At a town hall meeting last week at ImaginOn McColl Family Theatre, A&E Network, the Partnership for a Drug-Free N.C. and Time Warner Cable partnered to raise awareness about methamphetamine abuse and how to combat the growing epidemic. Silva, 28, was featured in 2005 on an episode of A&E's "Intervention." After being confronted by her family and an interventionist from A&E, Silva turned to treatment and fought her addiction. It is most common for 18- to 24-year-olds to use crystal meth because these are common ages for kids to experiment, said Cindy Murphy, director of Prevention Services at the Chemical Dependency Center for Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, who participated in a panel discussion at the meeting. A study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that 6.5 percent of high school students in N.C. have used meth. In 2007, it was 4.7 percent, Murphy said. Silva's story could happen to anyone, she said. She started experimenting with drugs because everyone else was doing it, she said. Luckily, she said, she was one of the ones who bounced back. "By the grace of God and the (A&E) show, I'm not dead and not in prison," said Silva, sober for three years. Her dream is now a reality: She's a corrections officer for the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department in St. Paul, Minn. Resources for meth addiction Meck Link Service Center, 704-336-6404. For screening, triage and referral to services in Mecklenburg funded by the state or county. Meth360: A program of community presentations delivered by law enforcement, prevention and treatment professionals to community organizations. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Drug-free Coalition can deliver Meth360 presentations for free. Details: The Chemical Dependency Center for Charlotte, 704-927-8868; or Substance Abuse Prevention Services in Charlotte, 704-375-3784. Dilworth Center for Chemical Dependency: 704-372-6969. Mecklenburg County Area Mental Health Authority: 704-336-2227. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom