EX METH USERS HOPE TO HELP OTHERS

"Suzy" was a nice girl. Her genial personality and girl-next-door looks
belied the fact she had once been a methamphetamine abuser.

She lived in Arkansas. I met her a few years ago when I was doing a series
of stories there for a newspaper in Saline County.

Suzy was just one of many people in that community who had fallen into the
grips of meth. At the time, that county had the highest number of meth lab
busts in the state of Arkansas, and even the county's former district
attorney had been arrested with methamphetamine smoking paraphernalia.

Suzy agreed to share the story anonymously of her struggle with meth in
hopes it might help other people avoid the problems she had suffered.

She had been off the drug for about three years when she recalled her
initial experience with meth during our interview.

She explained she had never dabbled in any other illegal drugs before a
friend of a friend introduced her to meth. She said they told her the meth
high was similar to the over-the-counter diet pills known as "Mini Thins,"
so she tried it by eating a small piece of the pinkish, crystallized substance.

She said it made her feel good -- "tingly," want to talk, chew gum, go out
and do stuff. She said that first experience made her feel so good she
wanted more. At first, she and her friend had a pact only to do meth when
they were together, and only to do it on the weekends.

Before long, however, the pact wore off as she learned she enjoyed doing
meth around the house as she did her housework. Her meth use soon developed
into a daily habit. Eating it soon gave way to snorting it. Suzy said the
highs were great, but the coming down was tough.

Soon, every day became a quest for meth, and she couldn't hold down a job.

Suzy said one time after being "up" on the drug for a week, she was so worn
out she started seeing things. She said she decided to get off the drug and
took a lot of muscle relaxers to help her sleep. She had to be rushed to
the hospital to have her stomach pumped.

Every time Suzy tried to get off the drug, she said she would fall back in
with the same crowd of friends and end up back on the "stuff."

She said the drug took its toll on her physically, at one point she had
dwindled to only 85 pounds, her hair was falling out, her teeth were
rotting and she had sores on her body.

She said sleep deprivation developed into paranoid delusions that people
were hiding in the woods around her house and that law officers had hidden
cameras and microphones on the utility poles outside her house.

One day Suzy said she realized she had lost everything, including her
3-year-old daughter who had been in the care of her grandmother for two
years, and she decided to get off meth for good.

She said she was able to get off the drug by severing all ties with her
friends. Soon she became sober and eventually got her child back and was
able to hold down a steady job.

Suzy is still doing fine. She is still sober and holding down a steady job,
and she still has her daughter.

Suzy's story of the spiral of meth abuse is much the same as any meth
abuser. The difference, however, is that not all of them are able to get
off the drug, and Suzy said she realizes she is lucky never to have gotten
in trouble with the law.

Former meth abusers like "Suzy" and "Eddie," who shared his story with the
Star-News for the series we are publishing on meth, say the drug is highly
addictive and the pleasant first experiences soon lead to an overwhelming
desire for more of the drug that eventually ruins lives.

Suzy and Eddie advised anyone on meth to seek professional help and to
sever ties with all friends who are into the drug.

I appreciate Suzy and Eddie sharing their personal stories of addiction and
respect them for having the courage to get off the drug. They should serve
as inspiration for people caught in the grips of the drug and as a warning
to people who toy with the idea of experimenting with the drug.

I hope their stories help prevent others from falling into the same horrors
they experienced and help others get off the dangerous drug.