HUSHED SCHOOL GYM LISTENS TO MOTHER OF CRYSTAL METH VICTIM

The large crowd assembled in the St Pierre Collegiate gymnasium last
Wednesday night listened in stunned silence and horror as Winnipeg
mom Carole Johnson described how her teenaged daughter's crystal meth
addiction took her life.

Colleen Johnson was an honour student, a star soccer player, a
beautiful, loving daughter and only 17 when she died.

"She could have and should have had it all...but she was introduced
to drugs and lost her life," Johnson said.

But before Johnson shared her daughter's story, Steinbach MLA Kelvin
Goertzen and Shauna Sheldon, a counsellor at the Addictions
Foundation of Manitoba Steinbach office, shared insight into the
spread of crystal meth across North America and what parents can do
to prevent their child from using drugs.

Goertzen has hosted or spoken at many crystal meth forums across
Manitoba, including one in Steinbach in October. Last week's evening
was organized by Cecile Lesage of The Health Corner in St Pierre-Jolys.

The provincial justice critic said one of the most common questions
he gets is, "How bad is the problem?"

He admitted it is quite difficult to pin down an actual number,
noting that some experts tell him as few as 3,000 Manitobans have
tried crystal meth to as many as 33,000.

Many people also believe abuse of such a brutal drug would be
primarily an urban issue. Not so, stressed Goertzen, who added that
its popularity isn't showing any signs of abating.

"There is a disproportionate amount of addictions in rural areas...in
statistics from 1995 to 2004, American justice officials have seen an
explosion (in the production and trafficking of crystal meth).

Addicted to crystal meth

While Goertzen believes Manitoba is "just on the cusp" of the
scourge, he noted there are already far too many parents from the
Southeast affected. Many have come forward to tell him that their son
or daughter is addicted to crystal meth.

Goertzen noted some recent positive developments, such as the
(provincial) government's decision to pull drugs used in making
homemade crystal meth off the shelves. "I commend the government for
doing that."

However, he estimated that will only help stop the flow of crystal
meth on the street by about 20 percent. Asian gangs and the Hell's
Angels bring the other 80 percent to Manitoba's communities, Goertzen added.

Sheldon told the audience, composed of St Pierre-Jolys and area
residents of all ages, that marijuana and alcohol are still the most
utilized drugs she sees. She gave a myriad of reasons young people
tell her they start abusing drugs.

"A lot of times, they'll simply say, 'Because it's fun', 'To
belong/peer pressure'...or, 'To relieve boredom'," said in front of a
large screen, noting these are all valid reasons or needs of themselves.

"The challenge is, trying to meet these needs in a healthy way."

She also commended St Pierre-Jolys mayor Real Cure for earlier in the
evening stressing the importance of family involvement in a teenager's life.

"The family has an incredible amount of power and influence in (a
young person's life)...it's okay to let them know you have high
expectations--and when you do, lead by example," Sheldon advised.

Sometimes though, even a strong, loving family isn't enough.

Worried sick

In Grade 10, Colleen Johnson started experimenting with drugs and by
the time she reach Grade 11, her personality was so changed, the
daughter she thought she knew was virtually unrecognizable, her mother noted.

Off on binges, Colleen would disappear for days on end and would make
excuses not to come home. In the meantime, Carole and her husband
Dennis would go through many sleepless nights, too, frantic and
worried sick for their daughter.

The Johnson family learned that unless Colleen willingly volunteered
herself to a detox centre, they were powerless to do anything.
(Unlike Alberta and Saskatchewan, Manitoba families cannot force a
drug-addicted child into treatment).

Colleen did realize she was a drug addict, but told some crisis
centre counsellors she was "just out having fun," and that "things
are going to change when I turn 18." Her mother said it was maddening
to find out that under young offender's law, "she had a lot more
rights than we did...we were at our wit's end."

When the meth-ravaged teen actually did make it home, she brought in
her junkie friends who terrorized her brother and father. She started
stealing items from the house to sell for more drugs.

She would pick and gouge at her once beautiful skin, Johnson noted,
explaining the drug gives the abuser the sensation that there are
bugs crawling around under the skin.

The family observed how Colleen's crystal meth addiction made her
become incredibly paranoid. Johnson described how when she was home,
if she just approached Colleen or came anywhere near her, it would
send the girl into an out-of-control rage.

"She would start screaming, 'What do you want from me?' and 'Why
don't you just leave me alone?'", the teen's mother recalled.

'Smell of death'

There was no peace of mind when Colleen finally came home to crash
after a binge--sleeping for days. Describing the scene in Colleen's
room during this time, Johnson said she didn't think it was possible
that such a revolting smell existed.

"We noticed a putrid smell seeping through her pores...it was a smell
of death. I can't quite describe it," adding that they learned the
crystal meth was eating away at her internal organs, rotting her body
from the inside.

Reading a poem titled, I am Meth, Johnson explained that although
another meth-addicted girl penned it while she was in jail, Colleen
could easily have written it. "This (poem) was her life," she
emphasized. A few excerpts:

The crimes you'll commit for my narcotic charms/will be worth the
pleasure you feel in your arms/ You'll give up everything--your
family, your home, your friends, your money, then you'll be alone/ I
will be your master, you will be my slave/ I'll even go with you,
when you go to your grave/ I can bring you more misery than words
could ever tell/ Come take my hand, let me lead you to hell.

Johnson said hopes the province will soon realize more drug
rehabilitation spaces are a necessity; "addicts need a place to get
clean," she pointed out.

"My prayer is that the government will rule that there should be
mandatory detox for addicts of all ages."

The last day Carole Johnson saw her daughter alive was a good day,
she shared, recalling that Colleen came home with one of "her smiles
that could melt an iceberg".

"She gave me a big hug and said, 'Mom, it feels like I haven't seen
you forever,'", Johnson recalled.

Colleen died two days later in a car accident.