THE FACE OF ADDICTION

Methamphetamine may have at one time been considered 'poor man's
cocaine,' but it is no longer solely the domain of the financially challenged

The root of addiction has nothing to do with the addict's position in society.

Take Richard, a 55-year-old retired mortgage broker who at the height
of his career earned $200,000 a year.

He retired to Palm Springs about two years ago and soon got hooked on meth.

Earlier this year, concern for his health prompted him to seek
treatment to break his deadly habit.

His finances squandered, Richard, who doesn't want his last name
published, is struggling to come to terms with his addiction and
return to his life before meth.

Richard said he started to use the drug as a way to meet others.

"I was lonely," he said in August at a treatment facility in Los
Angeles. "It helped me take the edge off and have fun."

His reasons aren't surprising, according to addiction experts.

"All substance use is an attempt to meet a need - relieve depression,
socialize, lose weight, get more done in less time," said Robin
Johnson, manager of Addictions & Prevention Education Services for
the Desert Aids Project in Palm Springs.

Considered a national epidemic, meth abuse is rampant in the
Coachella Valley, as evidenced by an increase in certain crimes here.

But the prevalence of meth abuse can also be quantified in the
variety of treatment facilities here in the valley.

In Indio, there is ABC Recovery Center, which provides long-term
residential treatment for the alcohol- and drug-addicted.

Its treatment methods are based on the principles of Alcoholics
Anonymous, according to the program's Web site.

There also is the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, which is
internationally known for its treatment facilities and recovery
programs for those troubled by addiction.

There are specialized recovery programs as well.

Johnson, a counselor at the Desert AIDS Project, works with members
of the gay community who are fighting meth addiction.

Meth use is a significant problem in gay communities across the
country, she said.

As a stimulant, it inhibits the user's need for sleep.

It also speeds up metabolism and contributes to extreme weight loss.

And it causes a euphoric feeling in the user that leads to lowered
inhibitions and increased sexual arousal.

Johnson compared a meth user to a perpetually revving engine that
eventually burns out and can't be started again until fixed.

"Addicts have to relearn so many things - things that you and I might
take for granted," she said. "They have to relearn how to enjoy food.
They have to learn how to think again, because on the drug your focus
is narrowed. Sex is no longer the same off the drug because when
you're on meth, everything is so heightened - so intense. That's why
the relapse rate is so high. Many people can't break the drug's hold."

Filling a need The Desert Aids Project is one of several social
service agencies in the Coachella Valley that offers treatment
specifically geared toward gays.

Another - The Studios of Palm Springs - opened this past summer in
the Warm Sands neighborhood.

Its co-founder, Michael Ralke, is a former meth addict who recognized
the need for a specialized rehabilitation center.

The Studios serves gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
individuals. Ralke and his partner in the venture, Betty Triliegi of
Minneapolis, believed they were filling a need when they decided to
locate their facility in Palm Springs.

"I'm gay," said Ralke, 54, who has worked in the drug rehabilitation
field for about 30 years, "and when I came into the field I felt
there was not enough services or proper services. People didn't feel
comfortable or couldn't reveal their lifestyle. An important part of
recovery is honesty."

And there's no time to be shy, he said, not when the damage caused by
crystal meth continues to ravage the GLBT community - not just in
Palm Springs, which is known for its gay-friendly atmosphere, but everywhere.

Deeply concerned about the need to fight the problem of meth, leaders
in the gay community held an information session in May and openly
discussed meth in this community.

It was at that gathering that Ralke met Richard.

"I could tell he was going in and out and had trouble focusing, but
the important thing was, he was there," Ralke said. "He came to me
and asked me to help him get off meth. The Studios wasn't up and
running at that point, but I knew I had to do something for him - get
him in a program or he was gone."

By June, Richard was in Alternatives, a Los Angeles-based program
based in Frank's House, a residential program that provides
recovering meth addicts a place to stay as they take their initial
steps to rid themselves of the deadly stimulant.

Opened by Ralke, its clientele is gay men who have been addicted to
meth and also suffer from other health problems.

Richard's progress was slow, and much of it was mired in denial.

"I'm not an addict," he said in August. "An addict is someone who
uses the drug frequently and paid for it. I never paid for it, and I
only used a couple of times in a week. Someone else always bought it.

"I didn't know anything about the drug," Richard said. "I didn't know
what it was made of or how toxic it is. If I'd known that, I never
would have used it."

Officials at Alternatives said Richard left the program in September,
but he has since relapsed and as of this month is in a treatment
hospital in Los Angeles.

Betty Ford Center Children's Program In war, the death or injury of
an innocent is known as collateral damage. In the war against meth,
children are collateral damage.

The Betty Ford Center Children's Program tries to help children left
in the wake of their parents' meth abuse.

Children enrolled in the program are taught how to cope with life in
a family that has been damaged by addiction.

The program started in 1984 in a small way, about once a month or
once a quarter.

Now, the center holds a four-day session about two to three times a
month and has served more than 7,500 children.

"We let children be kids," said Jerry Moe, the center's national
director of Children's Programs. "They deal with a lot of worry. A
lot of them don't know how to be kids anymore."

The four-day educational program for children ages 7-12 uses art,
games, role play and other tools to help them build strengths and
deepen resilience.

It is done in a playful and interactive way to help them understand
why their parents act in such a crazy manner sometimes, Moe said.

"The last two days, we require parents or caregivers to participate
with the children," Moe said. "If you really want to help a child,
help those who care for (him or her). Empower them with better
parenting skills."

And parents are not always aware they are being neglectful.

An adult drug, for now Nationally, meth remains a drug used mostly by
adults, although in some parts of the country experts are seeing
significant use among children as young as 11.

And in some parts of the Midwest, meth cooks dye the drug pink or
blue to make it appealing to children, said Kevin Jensen, vice
president of Prairie View Prevention Services, a South Dakota-based
social service agency that works with law enforcement and school
districts to educate the public about meth use.

But national statistics, collected in 2004, state that the drug
hasn't made significant inroads into the nation's high schools.

According to the Maryland-based National Institute on Drug Abuse,
which surveys teenagers about their use and knowledge of certain
illicit narcotics, the percentage of meth use among teenagers has
remained in the single digits since 1999.

That was the same year meth was included in NIDA research queries.

Locally, police and school officials say they have come across the
drug in high schools, but those instances have been rare.

"We get very little methamphetamine on the campuses," said Ray
Nardoni, former director of security for the Palm Springs Unified
School District, which oversees schools in Palm Springs, Desert Hot
Springs, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage and Thousand Palms.

"We mostly find marijuana, if we find anything," he said.