CRYSTAL METH PROBLEM CROSSES RACE, CLASS LINES

Delegates to the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association convention
this week passed a very important resolution that requests the government
to develop an action plan to stop the increasing problem with crystal
methamphetamine use across the province.

Meth is also known as, ice, crystal or glass. The problem also includes the
use of close relatives of the drug such as speed and ecstasy. The problem
knows no race or class boundaries.

This drug has spread across the West like a prairie fire, and has found a
home in the cities and small towns across the province. When you look into
the serious effects of this drug, it's no wonder that politicians and
police forces are so concerned.

If drugs are a contemporary epidemic, then crystal meth is the equivalent
of smallpox. This insidious drug pushes the mind and body faster than
either was meant to.

It causes brain damage by destroying nerve cells and, over time, creates
movement disorders similar to those from Parkinson's disease. Nerve cells
don't grow back, so the damage is permanent.

Those who use meth experience mood swings, anxiety, depression and chronic
fatigue. They have delusions and become paranoid, believing that their
friends are enemies or the police. They see danger everywhere.

People high on meth are not able to sleep, and don't have an appetite. As a
result, their bodies become worn down and vitamin-deficient, and have
lowered disease resistance. Organs such as the lungs, liver and kidneys
suffer damage. Meth users may suffer anorexia, irregular heartbeat, strokes
from damage to the brain's blood vessels, and even death.

Meth creates an immediate and long lasting high, which can last for eight
to 12 hours. The flip side is that it also produces a devastating low when
the user comes down. The need to get high comes after the first hit and
many young people find themselves addicted right away.

In a recent study, about 42 per cent of first-time meth users reported that
they had an intense desire to use it again and an estimated 84 per cent of
second-time users began a pattern of increasing use. There are no old
"meth-heads" out there. They don't live long enough to get old.

Unfortunately, meth is cheap and easy to produce. A batch can be cooked up
by using common household items such as old batteries and cold medicine.
But this is a toxic soup of chemicals and no two hits of crystal meth
contain the same amount of drugs or toxicity.

Withdrawal from meth results in deep depression and anxiety, making it very
difficult for users to quit. Also the toxic residue from the drug remains
in the body for months. In addition, meth users most likely have suffered
brain damage, so it's harder for them to make rational decisions. The best
treatment for meth addiction is not to start using it in the first place.

The SUMA resolution is an indication of the concern out there about crystal
meth. On Feb. 21 and 22, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations will
hold its winter assembly. We can't ignore this serious issue and our chiefs
must address meth and other drug addiction problems that have an impact our
communities. It's clear that we're all in this together.

The First Nations Health Summit will be held on March 29, 30, 31, at which
time there will be a series of workshops including one on the dangers of
meth and related drugs. John Watson from the Ochapowace First Nation will
be conducting the workshop.

A year ago John and his wife Wanda lost their son to an overdose of
ecstasy. At 9:20 a.m. they rushed to his side after hearing he had been
rushed to the hospital in a coma. Throughout the day, his brain continued
to swell and there was no sign of recovery. By 5 p.m. he was pronounced
dead. This young man was just 20 years old. He had been an athlete and
filled with the power of his spirit.

It was a parent's worst nightmare, but the Watsons vowed that his death
would not be in vain. So they began to speak to young people, starting with
the Kakisiwew School on their home reserve. Today, the couple has branched
out to schools across the province. In the past month they spoke to 800
students in Weyburn and about 600 in Moosomin.

"We are getting more requests from schools off the reserve," John told me.

First Nations people are vulnerable to addictions because of the high
degree of depression among our people. Studies in Canada and the United
States have found that our rate of depression is double that of the general
population. Many of our people "self-medicate" by using alcohol and drugs
in a vain attempt to combat depression.

Drug addiction is a modern day epidemic that has the potential to do more
damage than alcohol or diabetes. In John Watson's words: "In a time when we
should be focusing on helping our children grow and prosper, we are faced
with a deadly combination of drugs that will not only ruin their lives, it
will take them from us forever."