CALIFORNIA CRYSTAL METH REHAB WON'T WORK HERE, DOCTOR SAYS

Downtown Eastside Users Labelled 'A Tougher Population'

VANCOUVER - American crystal meth expert Richard Rawson says a
rehabilitation program in California is experiencing a success rate
of about 40 per cent, but local doctor Gabor Mate warns the outlook
is much less promising for those whose addiction lands them in the
sordid underbelly of Vancouver, where he works.

Mate was part of a small group in Vancouver that joined a video
conference linking American consulates across the country Wednesday
to hear Rawson discuss recent research and field questions from the
University of California at Los Angeles.

Rawson said worldwide research indicates meth users now number about
26 million, compared with 16 million heroin users and 14 million cocaine users.

Unlike crack cocaine, which was a scourge in the 1980s, the number of
users has not levelled off.

"Crack in the '80s showed a rapid increase, then a stabilization and
then a decrease," Rawson said. "But meth numbers keep going up. We
haven't found a decrease anywhere."

However, he said a recent California study found meth users who had
been treated using a variety of methods found about 40 per cent
responded well, and were employed and not using meth after one year.

But he warned a growing trend toward smoking the drug reduces the
effectiveness of rehabilitation.

"When it gets into the brain quickly, you get a lot of problems real
fast," he said. "People get addicted more rapidly, they get a lot
more psychiatric and medical symptoms.

"Everything bad is accelerated."

Mate, who works at the Portland Hotel on Vancouver's Downtown
Eastside, said any complacency about the drug's dangers would be misplaced.

"When I started working on the Downtown Eastside six years ago, I saw
hardly any crystal meth," he said.

"Now I see a lot more, and these are kids living in the Skid Road
area because of crystal meth, so from my perspective, it's a real problem."

He said these users are hard to help.

"They're separated from families, they're separated from their
communities, they're not in contact with the usual forces that help
them reintegrate into society and to seek treatment, so that's a
tougher population," he said. "Their chances are lower."

He said despite some public indications of concern, government has
not done enough to help.

"I think government hasn't understood it or devoted the energy or the
funding, or the interest, to tell you the truth."

Rawson said research suggesting a decline at the high-school level is
now viewed as inaccurate.

RCMP Sgt. Scott Rintoul, assistant provincial coordinator of the
drugs and organized crime awareness service, who also attended the
session, said crystal meth remains "a very scary drug."

"It's a threat that we have to respect," he said. "We're not at an
epidemic stage now, but certainly when we look across Canada, we're
experiencing more meth problems than the rest of the country is --
perhaps more users, more production for sure."

He said prevention efforts are essential, starting at the elementary
school level.