REALITIES OF METH ADDICTION NOT PRETTY

Paramedic Tells Of Filthy Homes, Open Sores At Drug Forum

MADISON - Local paramedic Sammy Helton has seen a lot of people addicted to
methamphetamine. It's sometimes dangerous to deal with them, he said, and
it's never a pretty sight.

He described the filth of the homes of meth addicts and their oozing sores
to about 40 residents at a forum Tuesday night at Bob Jones High School on
Hughes Road. It was the third of four forums called "Don't Meth Around"
being held in Madison County this month.

"Meth may be relatively new to our area, but you can get it anywhere,"
Helton said. "You can put blinders on and try to ignore it, but this is not
going away."

Helton was on a panel of experts who talked about the realities of the drug.

He said someone using meth constantly for days is called a "tweaker."

"A tweaker has had no sleep anywhere from three to 15 days and they're
irritable, edgy and sometimes dangerous," said Helton. "They'll do anything
and everything to get their high, and what gets them high today won't be
enough tomorrow."

Helton said he's heard heartbreaking stories from addicts he's helped treat.

"It doesn't matter who you are or what you have when you start with this
drug," he said, "because in the end, it'll all be gone."

Dr. Kitson Francis, a family counselor, said in most cases a person's body
can be detoxified of the drug. But kicking the habit often takes long-term
counseling.

"In order for treatment to be successful, the person must buy into it," he
said.

The reason Francis believes the community must help fight the meth problem
is because of young people and what they mean to the future.

"Right now, a young person might be thinking - I could be a doctor. Or a
drug dealer. I could be a preacher, or a prostitute," he said.

Francis said he "was amazed to learn" that Lee High School Principal Harry
Smith was arrested on a drug charge last week.

Harry Smith resigned as principal after his arrest on a charge of
possession of crack cocaine.

"We don't know what's going on with him," Francis said. "That doesn't make
what he did right, but someone has to help him find out what caused him to
do it and treat it."

The free forums are sponsored by Partnership for a Drug-Free Community and
DONT (Drugs Offer No Tomorrow). The last forum will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday,
Feb. 24, at the Dr. Richard Showers Sr. Recreation Center, 4600 Blue Spring
Road.