LOCAL HOSPITAL, PROVINCE SHOWING CONCERN ABOUT SPREAD OF METH USE

Methamphetamine 5

Your teenager stays up for days on end. He talks incessantly. He never sits
still. He doesn't come when he is called to dinner. You thought you had $20
in your wallet but it's not there now. He's got bad breath from rotting teeth.

If these signs represent a change from normal behaviour, it could mean they
are doing crystal meth.

More urgently, if your child, or a friend, loses consciousness, is
breathing very fast, seizuring or twitching, overheating, has a racing or
irregular heartbeat and chest pain he could be showing signs of an
overdose. Don't delay, call 911.

Dr. Gary Ollson, director of Emergency Medical Services at Lennox &
Addington County General Hospital said that while the effects of other
drugs may wear off by the time a teenager goes home from a party, the long
"half-life" of meth (the time it takes the body to excrete the drug) is 16
hours.

"It is hard to hide the agitation associated with crystal meth use," said
Ollson.

He added, "We have always seen sporadic use of
amphetamines/methamphetamines. It is only recently that some patients with
crystal meth have presented to the emergency department.

"Most commonly, these people are anxious, volatile, agitated and
aggressive. They can be quite disruptive to the ER," said Ollson.

Treatment generally consists of sedation using benzodiazepines, such as
diazepam (Valium) or lorazepam (Ativan) to suppress the agitation and
aggression.

Other effects, such as hyperthermia (fever) and hypertension (high blood
pressure), are treated using appropriate medical therapies.

Ollson said most organs of the body are affected including the brain. There
are the cardiovascular effects (mentioned above), nervous system effects
(hypothermia, seizures), psychiatric effects (hallucinations, panic,
psychoses) and gastrointestinal effects (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea).

Ollson said, " Death can result from heart arrthymias, hypothermia or
intracranial hemorrhage (bleeding into the brain)."

Long-term use leads to various psychiatric problems such as antisocial
behaviour, anxiety disorders, paranoid psychosis, memory loss and confusion
according to Ollson.

It is common for users of illicit drugs to share needles but there are
hazards associated with that practice.

"Hepatitis C and HIV infections are the two most common infections when
sharing needles with persons so infected. Use of dirty needles can also
lead to serious infections," said Ollson.

There are needle exchange programs available through the Lennox & Addington
Addiction Services making this dangerous practice unnecessary.

While the number of visits resulting from methamphetamine or other drug
usage is not currently tracked, Ollson says to date they have been sporadic
and not overly frequent.

"I expect that the frequency of use of crystal meth and its presentation to
the Emergency Department will increase. Crystal meth has been more of a
western Canada and U.S. phenomenon but is gaining increased popularity in
central Canada. It may be only a matter of time before we see the results
of this,"said Ollson.

The Ontario government is even more certain that meth is on its way and has
intensified its fight against it.

In June, the Honorable Monte Kwinter, Minister of Community Safety and
Correctional Services, directed that a group be formed (The Crystal Meth
Working Group ) to study the scope of the problem and recommend ways to
prevent its spread.

Members of the group come from various organizations such as Ontario
Provincial Police, Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, Canadian Mental
Health Association and MethWatch Co-alition to name a few. The group had
its first meeting in August of this year.

Health Canada has itself proposed regulating the sale of the drug's
chemical ingredients, but the idea has come under heavy fire from the
pharmaceutical industry.

Should the provinces decide to make it a requirement that cold medications
(containing pseudoephedrine) require a prescription, it would tax an
already cash-strapped health care system and clog up doctor's waiting rooms
unnecessarily.

The Ontario Pharmacist's Association started the MethWatch program,
designed to curb retail diversion of precursor ingredients used in the
production of crystal meth through awareness training for pharmacists and
their staff.

Educate yourself by getting more information on meth and other drugs at one
of the thousands of sites dedicated to that purpose such as
www.drugfreeteen.org.