WE SHOULD ALL KNOW BETTER

Crystal meth may seem like a life ring in the middle of the troubled
sea of adolescence, but it is actually a whirlpool down to the depths
of despair, even death.

Rick Smith, a Nanaimo counsellor specializing in additions and
compulsive behaviours believes everyone has something they have to
work to control or simply can't control.

"You have two choices. You can avoid it or you can work to conquer it.
See what the problem is and make changes," he said.

But for young people, the lure of crystal meth can be too
much.

"Crystal meth is done mostly in a social situation," says
Smith.

"They want to belong to the in-crowd and the use of meth allows them
to fit in."

And despite a plethora of warnings about the drug, kids will
experiment.

"We're talking about young people who believe they will live forever,"
says Smith.

"Parents' warnings are all over the top and the best friend who uses
crystal meth and says it's OK, it's not dangerous."

Smith says users are chasing the high that never is as good as the
first one.

"With a first-time user, the brain releases a flood of endorphins and
it is generally a positive experience. Life is good, you party all
night, come down, sleep all day and recover - no harm," he says.

"So you do it again but it's not quite the same. You don't reach that
same high and you come down a little lower."

Then more meth is needed to regain that edge, using up your body's
stored energy and they crash.

"The fact you don't do your school work or the fact you don't make it
into work just doesn't matter," says Smith.

"After awhile there is no high. You need more of the drug just to get
back to functioning normal."

Smith says we all know better, but everyone make inappropriate
choices.

"Kids most often want to bury the pain. They want to fit in, they see
huge faults in their parents and they want the troubles to go away,"
he said.

"But those feelings sooner or later have to come out."