CRYSTAL METH: A PARENT'S STORY

Pat Johnson's son struggled with an addiction to crystal meth. The
former Richmond resident describes her family's experiences for The
Richmond Review's readers:

"Five years ago my husband and I were not only naive about the
availability of drugs; we couldn't even recognize our own son's
addiction. What was said to be just 'typical teenage behaviours' were
in fact the first signs of our son's growing addiction to crystal meth.

We had no idea that addiction was stealing our son.

As this pervasive drug tightened its grip on our son, his life
changed rapidly. He dropped out of classes, lost his job, his long
time girl friend, and our family life became increasingly stressful.
The past years have been very difficult for our family. Our son,
after time in long-term residential treatment, now faces the
challenges of his recovery and its long journey. We have hope and we
are so grateful to have our son back.

Five years ago information and resources surrounding crystal meth
were not readily available. The old adage that goes, 'If I knew back
then what I know now' is always in the back of our minds."