THE NIGHTMARE ON CRYSTAL METH STREET CONTINUES

The telephone call from the lady came sometime yesterday, and she left a
message. The voice shook, trembling with fear, breaking constantly as she
tried to hold back the well of tears that were fighting to come through.
Finally, she began sobbing, the kind of sobbing that comes from feelings of
hopelessness and despair and not knowing where to turn next. The daggers
went deep into her.

Outside, the day was brilliant.

The sky was clear of any clouds, and there was a soft breeze, and the
temperature was a comfortable 11 degrees plus. The trees were budding, the
walkway around Wascana Lake was being used, the workers on Pine Island and
at the promenade finishing off two of the major enhancements to the
$18-million-plus enhancements of Wascana Centre. It was a day fit to be
enjoyed, the kind you wait all winter for. The golf courses were being set
upon by hundreds.

But for this lady on the telephone, the day was as dark and as miserable as
she could remember, and it offered no hope, only another terrifying journey
through the Nightmare on Crystal Meth Street. The naked city has 180,000
stories.

This is another one of the sad ones that keep increasing in their numbers
as the damage that crystal meth is inflicting on families is being told
over and over again.

The lady on the phone, the trembling in her voice, a voice empty of any
hope, will stay with me forever.

"I have three children," she said. "I have a daughter aged 18, a son aged
16 and a daughter aged 12. My husband and I both work. We live in a nice
neighbourhood. All of our kids did well in school.

Two of them still do. But our oldest daughter's life is a mess and because
of that our life is a mess. A little over a year ago, she went to a house
party with some friends.

There were some drugs at the party, not many, and most of the kids there
wanted nothing to do with them. My daughter, who hardly ever drank,
definitely would not do drugs.

I don't know why they didn't just leave the party.

But they didn't. Somebody offered my daughter a drink.

She took it, stupidly, but she took it. The drink had been spiked with
crystal meth. That's all it took. One drink.

And she was hooked.

We knew something was wrong with her. Her marks went down. She slept so
much. She was losing weight.

She didn't care about anything, about her appearance, even about bathing.

My husband had enough and he confronted her. I will never forget that morning.

She turned into a monster.

She screamed at us, using words that even I was horrified of hearing.

She tried to hit us with a broom.

She was breaking everything in her room. We did not know what to do. When
we finally found out that she was on crystal meth from one of her friends,
we sent her to a treatment centre in Alberta. There was nobody in Regina
who could do anything for her. When she came back, she seemed fine. She was
happy, she returned to school, her marks started to improve.

We thought everything was great. Then, after about a month of that, she
went out one night and didn't come home for three days. When she came home,
she went straight to bed, didn't say a word to us, and she slept for days.
She woke up and the same thing happened.

The screaming, the threats ... my God, what was I to do? This was my
daughter and she was a monster.

We sent her back for treatment and she came home the same way as before,
happy and certain she was over her crystal meth addiction.

For months, she seemed fine. Then, one day, a boy came to the door. We were
certain he was the kid who was giving her the drugs. She left with him.
That was two days ago. We haven't seen or heard from her since.

She is gone again, and I don't know who to turn to, I don't know where to
go for help. I have tried the police, they say that they can't do anything.

I don't know what to do. I am afraid that one of these times, she won't
come home and then ..."

The lady hung up.

I have no idea who she was. But if she reads, there is somebody she can
call. In Regina, there is no formal place where parents of crystal meth
victims can go. The mayor is trying his hardest to put together something
formal for these parents.

They should call his office at 777-7340. He is also joining an
ever-expanding group of people pressuring governments into taking stronger
stands against the manufacturing of crystal meth and the people who sell
the drug. Until governments and the police recognize and accept the
seriousness of the increase in crystal meth use, the drug will continue to
expand its terrifying hold on our young people.

Every day, a new story of human tragedy.

And every day that governments sit idly by watching this happen is another
day turned over to the world of crystal meth use.