METH A MENTAL ADDICTION

Called a disease of the mind, body and spirit, methamphetamine
addiction is more a mental rather than physical dependence.

Dr. Gary O'Shaughnessy, medical director of Cornerstone of Recovery,
said the good thing about meth is that addicts don't have to go
through the detoxification process like a heroin or alcohol addict.

``It is not like alcohol where people can die from coming off it,'' he
said.

The doctor's preference is in-patient treatment but, due to some
insurance requirements, out-patient treatment may be done to try and
get a person off the drug.

``The first 24 hours everybody comes here (to the Cornerstone facility
on Topside Road in Louisville) so that we can watch and make sure they
are not continuing to take the drug. It's rare just to quit using meth
on your own,'' he said.

``There's also a good chance that the person will be on something else
(another drug, such as alcohol) so in-patient detox treatment will
last four or five days. There are few solely crystal meth users.
Usually that use is part of a big drug package,'' O'Shaughnessy said.

Counselors can also use this confinement time to look for side effects
from meth use, such as a racing heart rate and an anxious feeling.
Often the addicts are malnourished from not eating properly and suffer
from sleep deprivation because the drug keeps users up for days at a
time. The immune system is also compromised.

Increased desire

For many, the biggest bonus from meth use is increased sexual desire,
sometimes resulting in people having sex for hours. Often the sex is
unprotected and abandoned, involving numerous sexual partners.

Due to this reason, the initial treatment includes tests for sexually
transmitted diseases. Addicts undergo a work-up checking for herpes,
HIV, gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia.

One medical Web site reports that in almost half of the new AIDS cases
in the United States, crystal meth has been a factor.

Meth can be smoked, snorted, taken orally or injected. For this
reason, addicts also have to be screened for hepatitis.

``The mental addiction is so strong that as soon as you get back home
often you'll be using again,'' he said.

``If people are not in a confined atmosphere, they're going to go out
and use. They can't help it. You have to put them in a situation where
they can't get out and grab the stuff,'' said the doctor, known as
``Dr. O'' at Cornerstone.

Most users under 30

Most of the meth users seen at Cornerstone are younger. ``Almost all
seem to be under 30. The majority are in their early 20's,'' he said.

The reasons for that are the facts that ``meth is cheaper than other
drugs, that age group is more impulsive and more into
experimentation.''

It also is highly addictive.

``The first time you use it, you're hooked. You get so much of a
better buzz than with cocaine. You will never go back to cocaine once
you try meth. It's real cheap and you can make it yourself, although
it's definitely a dangerous drug,'' O'Shaughnessy said.

``It is a disease of the mind, body and spirit, and all those aspects
are involved in treatment.''

He explained, ``people that are addicts have receptor deficits in the
cerebellum portion of the brain and can get hooked on drugs due to
that physical defect,'' he said.

O'Shaughnessy is opposed to the way drug users are handled by the
courts and law enforcement.

Treatment not jail

``Personally, I wish we'd change the legal system. Currently, when
someone is apprehended, the state spends money to keep them in jail
for two years instead of sending them for treatment,'' he said.

``You arrest people, lock them up and my patients tell me they
continue to use while in jail (being able to obtain the illegal drug).
When they get out they keep up the addiction,'' he said.

By putting them in jail ``you've done nothing to address the problem.
I can't see arresting people for a meth condition. We're wasting our
money there,'' he said.

One U.S. state is starting a program to put addicts, who would
normally be sentenced to prison, into an intensive drug rehabilitation
therapy. Money could be better spent getting them off drugs, rather
than just incarcerating them for two years, O'Shaughnessy said.

This would fit in with his philosophy of a year or two of
treatment.

He said, ``I don't care what the insurance companies say, long-term
treatment is better than a quick thing.''

Treatment expanding

About 15 percent of the Cornerstone of Recovery patients where
O'Shaughnessy works are meth addicts, he estimated.

``It seems to be cyclical. There may be one week when 80 percent of
the people coming in are using crystal meth. We may have eight people
that are using, selling and making meth,'' he said.

Cornerstone operates three treatment facilities on Topside Road. The
J.W. Bill Hood facility which O'Shaughnessy directs can hold 50
people, another facility for people who have had multiple treatments
can hold 20 and a young adult facility can also accommodate 20.

The treatment facilities have mushroomed. When O'Shaughnessy started
there seven years ago, there were only 40 beds total. ``We've really
expanded. The need is still here.''

Facility expansion is expected to continue.