Hinton learns that meth hurts

Ask any member of the Hinton Drug Action Committee about "the
statistic" and they will cringe.

"The statistic" has become a mythical monster, like the Jabberwocky,
that haunts the dreams of some Hinton residents.

And they are quick to tell you that "the statistic" was completely
misinterpreted by the media, creating the impression of a small town
choking to death under a cloud of methamphetamine vapour.

What happened was this: two years ago, the Hinton AADAC office
revealed that of all the people who came looking for help, one in
three reported an addiction to crystal meth.

To the abject horror of locals, some media reports left the impression
that one-third of the town's entire population was hooked.

Not that anyone in Hinton is trying to minimize the issue. It doesn't
take a lot of crystal meth to wreak havoc in a small town, to say
nothing of the devastation it can inflict on individual lives.

And even though "the statistic" wasn't nearly as devastating as some
made it sound, it was still the highest rate of its kind in the province.

Hinton RCMP estimate that of all the spousal violence complaints they
receive, 10% can be linked to meth use. And of the number of cases
where a parent is abused by his or her child, 40% of the abusers are
meth addicts.

The police also claim that 100% of their "habitual property crime
offenders" (in plain English, chronic thieves) are meth addicts.

Hinton is the quintessential Alberta town. It's a hard-working,
blue-collar community whose lifeblood is the local pulp mill and mines.

Its people exude the dignity and independent spirit that comes with
paying one's own way through old-fashioned elbow grease and thrift.

It's this forthrightness and keen sense of responsibility that led the
community to meet the meth horror straight on.

"We're not sweeping it under the rug," said town Coun. Rick Armstrong.
"The most important step this community has taken is openly
acknowledging there's a serious problem. Once we did that, we were
able to start working together on solutions."

The intervention, to use addiction-speak, was first conducted by the
town's ministerial association. Local clergy were seeing a growing
number, within their congregations, of people touched by drug
addiction, either in their own families or friends and neighbours.

Even the churches themselves were being victimized. In a single
weekend, according to United Church minister Tammy Allan, three
separate churches were robbed of either cash or easily pawned items.

Over a two-month period, Allan was approached by three separate
families within her congregation, all of whom were struggling with a
loved one who was addicted to meth.

"The ministerial association invited the town council to lunch,"
Armstrong said, "and when we got together, they said, 'Look, there's a
growing problem here and we've got to do something.'"

From that meeting the Hinton Drug Action Committee was born. Made up
of people from all walks of life, including politicians, police
officers, educators, health professionals and clergy, they're rallying
the people to fight meth. The committee is working to educate the
community and lobbying government on two fronts - giving the police
the tools they need to fight meth production and providing more
treatment for addicts.

The committee launched an ingeniously simple campaign with the slogan
"Meth hurts," explaining that addiction and substance abuse hurts
everyone, not just the users.

"It's been very effective," said Armstrong. "I've been out
door-knocking for re-election, and I'd have to say that at least half
the houses I've been to have the 'Meth hurts' stickers at their
entrance. That tells me that the community is aware of the problem and
we're working together to solve it."