MORE HELP NEEDED IN METH WAR

Front-line addictions workers will be grateful for new money from the
government to combat crystal meth. On Thursday the Ministry of Health
announced $8-million for use across the province, including $426,662
coming to the Northern Health Authority for more assessment staff and
youth workers.

Andrew Burton, the drug prevention coordinator for Northern Health,
said he does not yet know what the results of this will be, since no
one has been hired and no agendas established, but he predicts it will
help.

"We do need more front-line people. We've needed front-line people for
awhile. Hopefully we can get on top of crystal meth," he said. "Meth
is a serious problem and has unique aspects to it. You see a lot of
violence associate with meth use, you see a lot of psychosis and
psychotic breaks associated with meth use, you see people having a
really hard time kicking it and that puts a huge strain on support
staff and treatment staff dealing with the behaviour of those using
meth. So it is great news that they will be giving us some more people."

Burton said early indications around meth indicate it is a problem
concentrated in the north's major centres, so those incoming
professionals probably won't be spread too thinly. A lot of research
still needs to be done, though.

"We get differing stories from differing sources," he said. "If there
are six people in a town who all use meth and they all know each
other, it can seem like everybody is doing meth. I've talked to some
folks around the north who say no, there is no meth in my community
but then we'll talk to the youth there who say oh yeah we've got meth.
And if the local drug dealer has been selling cocaine and pot for
years but his supplier gives him a great deal on meth one day, all of
a sudden all the users in that community are getting meth pushed at
them and suddenly you have meth in your community."

Burton said $8-million seems like a lot of money until you start
adding up what the costs are to battle it. Nonetheless, this money has
come at a welcome time, very soon after the Solicitor General's
symposium on meth where local people in the drug culture told the
government directly what the issues are in Prince George.

According to Burton, early attack on meth is the only way to save
lives and the only way to save the taxpayer enormous costs in the long
run. Meth, like all drug addictions, has an escalating scale of
physical and mental effects the longer it goes untreated.
Psychological breakdowns, dental problems, malnutrition, sleep
deprivation, infections, organ dysfunction and death can all come hard
and fast to meth users. For the average citizen that means unnecessary
health dollars spent, someone in a hospital bed that perhaps didn't
need to be there, using hospital resources others might need for their
maladies, plus all the costs for police, court workers, insurance
companies and homeowners who get hit by break-ins or muggings as
untreated addicts go after their desperately needed fix.

Burton said he will likely learn more about the new money for meth
later this week in the NHA's usual planning meetings.

"For myself, meth is a huge problem but we need to look at a lot more
than just meth. we need to look at drug use overall," he said. "But we
have needed a focus on drug and alcohol services, specially youth
services, for a long time. And front-line people have been saying this
for a long time so it is nice to know we are being heard."