PARENTS NEED TO FACE DRUG REALITY

One hit, one rush, a feeling of euphoria . . . and you're hooked. It sounds
nothing but pleasant, but to someone who has just taken their first hit of
crystal meth, it could be their first slip into a downward spiral of addiction.

When thinking of these addicts who are hallucinating, losing weight,
becoming irritable, anxious, confused and aggressive, it may be hard to
relate to them. It seems foreign, and just another example that the media
has nothing better to do than scare people. The problem is, this issue is
real. Perhaps when you brushed arms with someone in a department store,
shook your neighbour's hand, or hugged your teenage son or daughter; you
came close enough to touch this problem.

"Speed", the pill form of methamphetamine, was the drug of choice in the
1960s. It lost its popularity after this time because of the
well-advertised campaign (sometimes by the addicts themselves) that
ingrained the expression "speed kills" into our pop-culture that is still
well known today. The problem resurfaced in the late 1980s when it emerged
in its smokable form known as crystal meth. In Canada, meth has become an
epidemic in large cities such as Toronto, but also in many rural communities.

The easy access to the drug is a result of its cheap manufacturing costs
($150 in manufacturing costs yields up to $10,000 profit) and the fact it
is easily fabricated in labs that can be set up in homes or in automobiles.

The ingredients include over-the-counter cough, cold and allergy medicines,
acetone, rubbing alcohol, iodine, starter fluid, drain cleaner, lithium
batteries, lye, paint thinner, gas additives and many other harmful
chemicals. The purchase of some of these products are being monitored in
programs such as MethWatch ( www.methwatch.ca ), whose signs can be found
on the doors and pharmacy counters of large-chain drugstores.

When I saw someone unloading their purchases on the counter at the grocery
store with the sores and infections that are typical of a crystal meth
addict, I found myself indifferent. Perhaps it was because I felt that it
was something I would never have to face. Why would I? I live in a good
neighbourhood where you can go for walks at night and not worry about your
property or about your children becoming addicted to drugs.

Personally, I never came in contact with the drug, but some people around
my community did. That's when I realized that this drug affects more than
just poor and rural areas -- it's everywhere. There are no boundaries and
no socio-economical circles keeping this out of your children's,
neighbours', and co-worker's hands. Methamphetamine is encompassing Canada
from coast to coast and, it seems, the more popular it becomes, the younger
the addicts are.

Parents should be aware that this drug isn't just in poor or rural
communities. My view is that of an 18-year-old university student with good
morals and values and I was shocked when I saw this drug moving into my
Regina area high school. I saw 17-year-old girls and boys alike quitting
school or disappearing for weeks at a time.

When I asked one boy how he managed to quit, he was hesitant before saying,
"I quit on my own. No one can make you (quit), you've got to want to. The
people that try to make you are only talking, you know? But in the end, you
have to want to."

The problem remains in the fact that some of these people are too young and
uneducated to know the dangers of the things they're putting in their body.
The best thing that a parent can do is talk to their children about crystal
meth as if it could easily happen to them, before they find out it can.

For more information on methamphetamines, a list of resources, and
addictions help, visit the Web site
http://www.methmadness.com/methmadnessmain.html