DON'T GIVE UP ON THE METH HEADS

The Safe Streets Safe Cities Conference, Tuesday through Thursday,
will tackle chronic social problems afflicting urban society and
propose ways to make cities safe. International experts will examine
modern scourges, including drugs, crime, prostitution, poverty and
homelessness.

See safestreetssafecities.com for details.

Crystal meth is highly addictive, readily available and cheap to make.

Methamphetamine users cut across class lines and gender. In 2004, in
the state of Iowa, 47 per cent of all new female prisoners had a
history of meth use versus 39 per cent of new male prisoners.

Many of those women started using meth to lose weight, since it
suppresses hunger. Once a woman takes meth, what stares back at her
is a beautiful person. One told me that she felt like a wonderful
mother when she was on meth.

This dastardly drug is deceptive. The user can stay awake for three
days, then sleep for the next three days. It leads to child neglect
and children being put into foster care.

The mother drowns her depression in more meth and descends on a
downward spiral.

Men on meth feel 10 feet tall and can take on the world. Their macho
mood often leads to crime and violence.

This insidious drug rapidly releases dopamine into the pleasure
section of the brain, producing a high that can last for 15 hours.

Once meth devastates that part of the brain, it takes a long time to
rebuild. Because meth's effect is so dramatic, treatment also takes longer.

People once believed meth-heads couldn't be treated. That's not true.
Successful meth treatment does take longer, but can be profoundly effective.

Addicts need to put in the time, at least 90 days, to rid themselves
of meth's horrors.

What is useful to addicts is dual diagnostic treatment where mental
illness and depression are handled along with substance abuse.

I've received letters from people in prison who voluntarily quit
alcohol, cocaine, or marijuana, but not meth. It's the one drug they
overcame only when treated in prison, and some said they would be
dead if they hadn't gone to prison and beaten meth.

Meth use touches all parts of society from a city's towers to the
country's fields. A few farmers take meth during grain harvest and
can't stop; one ended up in prison in Iowa. As in the cities, we're
hard pressed to find a rural community not touched by meth.

The ingredients for meth, including pseudophedrine (PSE), are easy to
obtain. After a double homicide at a meth lab, we discovered the PSE
was obtained from a convenience store where a girlfriend worked.

We learned some high-turnover workplaces are a breeding ground for meth cooks.

In 2004, Iowa ranked No. 2 in meth labs in the United States. Today,
Iowa is No. 1 in reducing those labs.

On May 21, 2005, Iowa's pseudophedrine control law took effect.
Nearly all medicine made with PSE must be sold in drug stores. Six
months later, Iowa saw an 80 per cent meth-lab reduction.

The hard-hitting law puts most PSE in pharmacies where it must be
behind shelves or in locked cabinets. Anyone who buys drugs
containing PSEs must show photo ID and sign a purchase log with their
name, address and PSE quantity. Tiny amounts of liquid-only PSE may
be sold in retail stores, with the same types of controls.

The dramatic results show that domestic meth production can be
controlled. The secret lies in legislation. First, society needs to
recognize the problem. Then, grassroots coalitions of concerned
groups and citizens work with policymakers to craft effective laws.

Before and after the legislation, citizens can work together to
further prevent drug use.

In your home and community, talk about drugs and the harm they cause.
Nearly everyone has stories about friends, family or neighbours and
the anguish of addiction.

People feel empowered when they develop solutions to social ills.

People prevention (talking with kids about drugs) and environmental
prevention (placing meth-making ingredients behind the pharmacy
counter) turn out to be a successful combination in reducing meth labs.

To anyone doing the same, I hope similar positive results will follow.