Series: Meth: Shattering Lives In Northern Nevada

A three-month Reno Gazette-Journal investigation found that
methamphetamine's grip on the Truckee Meadows has become a stranglehold.

'CRYSTAL METH IS ... AN OBSESSION'

Note: Only first names are used for participants in Crystal Meth
Anonymous because participants in 12-step programs use anonymity as
part of their recovery.

The ceiling fan is whirling and the concrete floor is dirty and scuffed.

Sobriety creeds have been scratched on the walls of the 12-Step Club
on Reno's Alvaro Street. A coffee pot is nearby.

On this particular Saturday night, crystal meth addicts for the first
time in Reno receive recovery chips -- which signify the length of
their sobriety -- to great applause from their fellow addicts.
Crystal Meth Anonymous formed in November 2005, attesting to the
growing problem of crystal meth abuse throughout Northern Nevada.

At the conclusion of this meeting, the group of men and women and
their children form a circle around a pole.

"This represents how we will never stand alone," says Jena, CMA-Reno
treasurer, who then leads a prayer. "Keep coming back, it works."

Before CMA was offered, crystal meth addicts had to turn to other
12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous
that did not specifically address their drug of choice. Because meth
alters the brain chemistry, meth users say they feel they can relate
better to other meth users.

Many addicts say they attend 12-step meetings of substances they
don't abuse to be in a supportive environment and strive for the same
substance-free goals.

Reno CMA meetings got started after a former crack addict, Barbara
Pierson, noticed that most of the female inmates at the Washoe County
Jail she was counseling were crystal meth addicts. She downloaded
information from the national CMA Web site and contacted the 12-Step
club to use its venue.

"Crystal meth is bigger than us, it's an obsession," said Pierson,
who owns and operates two transitional homes in Sparks for female
substance abusers through her program, The Launching Pad. Most of her
clients are methamphetamine or crystal meth abusers. Many are mothers
who have lost their children due to their abuse.

"Addicts don't respond to reason and there is no talking them out of
doing it regardless of the consequences," she said.

Crystal meth is becoming the main drug of choice in Washoe County,
according to the detectives who target street-level drug dealers.

"It's more pure and addictive than powder meth," said Sgt. Dave
Evans, who heads the regional Street Enforcement Team. "Meth is the
No. 1 drug here and crystal is bumping into the top slot. You seldom
see just powder meth anymore."

'We are powerless'

The tiles that surround the meeting room where crystal meth addicts
come together are painted with the names of addicts and the date they
became sober.

Before they start, participants read a statement saying they are
powerless against crystal meth. They beg God to intervene and they
admit they have to make amends to those they have wronged. Meanwhile,
the children of the addicts keep their eyes on the floor or doodle in
notebooks.

In this meeting, Joanne, a Sioux Indian who's lived all over Northern
Nevada, tells the group her story of addiction. She sneaks kisses to
her son, who has heard the story many times before.

Joanne said she used crystal meth to escape a life peppered with
sexual abuse by relatives and the deaths of her parents and
grandmother. She also abused alcohol and marijuana. Her addiction led
to violent crime and prostitution.

Even after the birth of her son, she couldn't keep away from drugs.
She said it wasn't until she learned forgiveness that she got clean.
She earned her G.E.D. and a commercial driver's license, and she
started college. She has a full-time job and is able to care for her
son. Her criminal record has been sealed.

"Miracles happen," she said. "My life is really good. I'm not giving
up on it, but I want to. I don't want to go to school or get up to go
to work. I want to be lazy. But I want a house, I want to travel and
I want money.

"If I use again, I fear that I will lose everything," she said.

Caring for kids while high

Rachael, 35, who graduated from Pierson's transitional living program
last year, said she had gone from an occasional user to a full-blown
addict who was consumed with getting high. On drugs, she felt
accepted and liked by people. But she would later learn it was the
drugs they wanted, not her company.

In the midst of her drug abuse, she had been running a home daycare,
taking care of an infant and children 4 and under. Until she turned
herself in, she had been using crystal meth daily for a year and a
half. She had become a compulsive liar and a shoplifter.

The hardest part was telling the parents of her day-care children
what she had been doing. Next was telling her own parents.

"If I'm sober, what's in it for me? Good things versus pain and
unhappiness," she said. "It's hard and you have to fight your mind.
You've been trained to think chemicals will make everything feel better."

Now Rachael has a job, a house and has forgiven herself and reunited
with her family. Life is good, she said.

But part of keeping that good life is completing her 12 steps of
recovery and attending meetings like CMA.

"I always leave the meetings feeling so much better," she said.

[Sidebar]

What Is Crystal Meth Anonymous

# A recovery program based on the support of other addicts. They use
a 12-step approach similar to Alcoholics Anonymous that includes
admitting their addiction has become unmanageable, they have made a
decision to turn their lives over to God, admitted their wrongs and
made a list of the people they have wronged.

# Staying sober is the goal.

# Crystal meth addicts say they relate better to other addicts since
they share experiences about the stimulant that differs from other substances.

# Where to go: Crystal Meth Anonymous meets 4 p.m. Saturdays,
Whitaker Park, 550 University Terrace . For information, call 322-4811.