VIEW FROM THE OTHER SIDE

Former Users: It's About Treatment

Kenny Morrison, a former methamphetamine user and dealer from southeast
Iowa, is interested in speaking to school or community groups about the
issue. The Register asked him what Iowa can do to better handle the meth
problem:

On prison: "There's several things that come to mind. The first thing, of
course, would be the people that are getting in trouble for petty meth
crimes. Rather than imprison them, if they could somehow force rehab upon
them, they may help a lot of them become clean and sober again, like a dry
spell, so they can realize where their life is taking them while they are
using the meth."

On public awareness: "It seems like the government doesn't like people to
know just how serious of a problem this meth is, and they need to make
people aware that the epidemic is a widespread problem. But I mean there
are so many different ways that they can do it. Like the little TV
advertisements they have, they just show the person on meth. They don't
show the devastation caused to the family members, to society, to everyone
else."

On rehabilitation: "It costs on average $23,000 per year, per inmate to
house them in a penitentiary, where if they can put them through rehab, it
would serve the same effect. A lot of the time it would be more beneficial
to them for not even a fourth of the money. So you would get four or five
times as many people through rehab to help them versus putting them in
prison and spending that much more money.

On chemicals: "There are chemists and scientists everywhere in the United
States and everywhere in the world for that matter. If they could come up
with some chemical that would not alter the effects that the anhydrous
ammonia has on the farmers' fields, but yet it would alter the chemical
compound of the anhydrous ammonia to where it wouldn't produce meth
properly, just mix it in the anhydrous ammonia. Just little things like that."

Candy Heimbaugh, a former addict, had this to say about how Iowans could
fight the meth problem more successfully:

On quitting: "To get sober, you have to want it. You have to be tired of
that world. You have to want to better yourself and you definitely have to
stay away from people who use meth. My treatment was exceptionally good.
The only criticism I would have is that they shouldn't tell people the
statistics" of those who fail. "In my group, they told us at the beginning
that only one in 15 people was going to make it. I keep thinking if only
one is going to make it, it's not going to be me. I really worried about
that the whole time."

On curbing supply: "I knew people in Missouri who would drive clear to
Oklahoma to buy ephedrine. We need a national law making it harder to get
(precursors), and we also need a better way to lock up anhydrous tanks."

On treatment: Heimbaugh said she favors the expansion of drug-court
programs over jailing more addicts. "There are so many children in foster
homes and so many parents in prison. You have to realize: Pretty much all
these people can't do much to help their addiction. Once you take that
first hit, you're stuck."