GET USED TO METH MADNESS

Problem Of Crystal Meth Use Is Here To Stay, Will Worsen, Conference Told

Anyone who thinks the crystal meth problem is going to get better is
hallucinating. A conference was told Friday that meth in its current
reincarnation has been on the streets for only five years. It's an
infant of a drug that will grow into an even bigger monster

"Is it going to get worse? For sure," said Bob Hughes, an addiction
counsellor from the Phoenix Centre in Kamloops. "It's only been five
years, and it's already come out of the fringes and gone into the
mainstream. "Use is going to increase. Will it become an epidemic? I
doubt it, but it's here to stay. We'll just have another drug to add
to the cornucopia of dangerous substances." Meth is attractive to
teens because it's cheap and easy to get. It's a drug they can do in
the morning, and its effects will last all day long

Hughes says it can wreak even more havoc than crack
cocaine.

"It's being used primarily by younger and younger crowds," said
Hughes. "It's similar to crack cocaine in terms of addiction.

"But with meth, we see people coming in and they're psychotic. That's
significant. The propensity for violence and aggression with meth is
unique. We haven't got the message out to youth that crystal meth does
enormous damage."

Two-thirds of street people use meth. Hughes explained the psychosis
it can create in addicts by citing one user who was hallucinating even
two months after he had stopped using.

"After two months, one individual told me he still saw shadow people,"
said Hughes. "He would be walking down the street, and he still had
feelings that there might be someone on the other side of a parked car
that was running along with him. He'd go out in the road to see if
there was anybody there."

Hughes said parents should watch for any dramatic changes in behaviour
in their kids, such as a shift away from being engaged in activities
such as sports or academics. If you're seeing a drop in those healthy
activities, that might be a warning sign, said Hughes.

"If a teenager is up before you are and busy and active -- well, we
know that teenagers tend not to want to get up in the morning," said
Hughes. "Weight loss is a very significant symptom. Also, you will see
a breakdown in the skin where they're getting sores on the edges of
their hair line and they're picking away at them."

He said parents should also look for rapid speech and dilated
pupils.

"After they use the drug for a period of time, they crash," said
Hughes. "They're sleeping for many, many days, and you can't seem to
wake them up. So you'll see a pattern of binge use and then drop-off."

Hughes says the first level of help is from the parents.

"Don't be demanding or you are going to have a defensive child. Devote
some time engaging your child in a non-intrusive way.

"Then access some support for yourself. Fear can be mobilizing for a
parents, but it can make you do things that you're going to regret
later. In terms of trying to control your child, that pushes him
further away.

"There are services out there, whether it's calling a friend, the
Ministry of Children and Families or addiction service providers."

He said there has been little research in B.C. -- and none in Kelowna
- -- on the amount of use.

"In Kelowna, I don't think there are any statistics about who is using
the drug," he said. "I'm very hopeful we're going to get some
resources to determine where the drug is and what level of use is out
there."

Hughes said there is also an increase in babies being born to
meth-using mothers who face withdrawal as soon they enter the world.

The baby crashes and becomes irritable and has a hard time adjusting
to stimulation. People or babies coming off the drug have an inability
to handle stimulation, such as bright lights.

Meth babies also tend to be smaller and premature because of a lack of
nutrition.

Hughes said there needs to be some fundamental changes in Canada to
deal with the meth problem.

"Unlike our American counterparts, we in Canada have very limited
powers to control the behaviour of adolescents," says Hughes.

"Changes in the Youth Justice Act have resulted in less control and
thus fewer consequences for destructive, anti-social behaviour.

"As well, a crumbling health-care system has offered few resources to
tackle the psychiatric and cognitive damage done by this drug. Such
factors have created a ripe situation for this drug to create enormous
social damage to our families, communities and the future of our youth."