METH ADDICTS NEED TREATMENT, NOT JAIL

A neurologist from southern Alberta says the Premier's Task Force on
Crystal Meth is bang-on when it says addicts should go into treatment
rather than to jail.

And Dr. Bill Tatton agrees, too, with the report's insistence that
crystal meth producers and dealers face much stiffer sentences. But
Tatton believes the province has its work cut out if it plans to
implement the sweeping 83 recommendations outlined Tuesday by Colleen
Klein, who co-chaired the task force with Dr. Robert Westbury.

"Absolutely you should never put a drug addict in jail," said Tatton,
who lives near Fort Macleod. "Treatment has to be the focus. But what
you don't want is people who aren't properly trained dealing with this."

Tatton has lobbied the province to take notice of the crystal meth
problem for years. He has been studying the effects of crystal meth
on the brain and working with parents across the province whose
children are addicted to it. In this work, he's encountered addicts
who are less than 12 years old.

The task force recommendations are focused in three key areas:
prevention, healing and treatment. Special consideration for
aboriginal people was noted, as well, including increasing access to
services and removal of a federal restriction that says natives must
return to their home reserves for treatment services.

The report focuses on finding the best ways to prevent people from
starting to use crystal meth, making sure addicts get treatment along
with longer-term support to help them heal, and getting the drug off
the streets by aggressively going after dealers and producers.

It calls for a minimum of 100 beds for detox services in both urban
and rural communities and 200 more beds at least for treatment
services. The report also recommends Alberta Health provide
whatever's needed to establish residential treatment centres for 18-
to 24-year-olds.

But Tatton says he wonders what the task force means by "detox,"
saying crystal meth detoxification involves greater challenges than
what's required to cleanse the body of other addictive substances.

"For some reason, up to 45 days after they're clean, they can go back
into psychotic episodes," Tatton said. "This is a medical problem,
but they don't even evaluate these kids medically. First, let's get a
baseline medical evaluation done on the child. Then, a basic
neuro-psych baseline that looks at things like their cognitive ability."

Meth addicts can have heart, liver and kidney damage, brain damage
and rotting teeth in infected gums. Once their medical problems are
addressed, they need a routine that includes physical activity and
good food, which is why Tatton is partial to treatment centres in a
rural setting.

"They need to be able to fall into bed at night exhausted from what
they've done all day, and when they're at that point, then you can
begin the counselling and the talking."

When the province and AADAC announced in June that Lethbridge would
get eight beds for crystal meth treatment, Tatton called it a good
start but said a more realistic number is likely 40 beds. The eight
that were promised aren't expected to open until March.

Tatton has been frustrated by what he's experienced as a reluctance
of Lethbridge agencies to admit a crystal meth problem resides here.
He points to Taber's head-on proactive approach -- through the Taber
Coalition Against Drugs -- as a model that could serve as a prototype
for other communities.

"There are some things we know about high-risk groups," Tatton said.
"For instance, two-thirds of the users are girls, and that could be
because as teens, girls have lower levels of self-esteem. We also
know that people who suffer from depression have a higher incidence
of addiction, as do people who have used other kinds of drugs. And
children who have suffered abuse are at much higher risk."

Other recommendations made by the task force include users going
before special courts in the community; bringing relevant speakers
like former users to schools to talk about the drug; beefing up
public awareness campaigns; and establishing a provincial protocol
requiring all youths caught with drugs in schools or under the
influence of drugs to see an AADAC addictions counsellor and attend
AADAC information sessions.

Currently young people in Lethbridge who need treatment in a detox or
residential program have to go to Calgary to get it.

The Alberta government has also enacted legislation that could force
young people into treatment if their parent or guardian gets a court
order. Under the Protection of Children Abusing Drugs Act (known as
P-Chad), which took effect in June, a child could be placed in a
protective safe house for up to five days.

By next spring there will be 68 detoxification and residential beds
for youth across the province. The Lethbridge beds will be open to
youth between 12 and 18 and not just for crystal meth addicts, but
for the number of addictions AADAC helps with, including alcohol and marijuana.

The Lethbridge beds will offer a detox program that could involve
stays of between five and 10 days, and a residential program, which
could keep young people for up to 12 weeks. The beds haven't been
designated as either detox or residential so they'll shift back and
forth dependent upon need.

Finally, the task force calls for implementation of an awareness and
best-practices program for health professionals, including students
who are still in school.