PUTTING METH ADDICTION IN CONTEXT

Methamphetamine abuse is certainly on the radar in Chilliwack, but
it's not an epidemic, nor is it as prevalent as other illegal drug
use, says a regional addictions specialist.

"Chilliwack does not have the highest rate of meth use in Fraser
Health, in fact, Abbotsford does," says FHA addictions leader Sherry
Mumford. "People have that perception, but they've had no concrete way
of comparing it to communities around them."

Chilliwack actually has the second-highest rate in terms of the number
adults and youth coming into funded addiction services saying they use
crystal meth.

The issue has become topical in the wake of a provincial meth strategy
announced recently, which is building on regional efforts.

"It's to the province's credit to note that it has heard and is
responding to concerns from the public about a specific drug," she
says.

"But meth is not an epidemic. It's a drug trend and it's problematic.
It came on fairly quickly but it will go away."

The addictions specialist says she's very encouraged by Chilliwack's
community-oriented approach, using the locally-driven effort to set up
post-detox stabilization beds here as an example.

"I really feel confident that Chilliwack will rise to the occasion.
There's lots of room for partnering," she says, "Especially with a
mayor and council so willing to look at the issues. With a
broad-minded approach like that, we find we can step into communities
and come up with community-based strategies."

According to the numbers of local young people who've come through the
doors of FHA addiction services, the overwhelming majority of
Chilliwack youth use the following substances in descending order:
alcohol, pot, meth, and cocaine.

For adults, the top four are alcohol, pot, cocaine and then meth.

"It runs the gamut from daily users, to weekend users, to binge users,
to kids who've used only once," Ms. Mumford says.

Fraser Health set up a task force on meth and began by gathering data
about clients who use funded addiction services, and what was the
extent of the problem in the region.

Crystal meth is cheap, readily available and people can make it
anywhere, she emphasizes. It's highly addictive, can lead to psychotic
episodes and lends itself to street use, but middle-class high school
students are using too, she adds.

A total of 1,200 young people sought help from Fraser Health
addictions services in 2003-04, and for adult clients the total was
5,500 in that same period.

A total of 11 per cent of young people said the only drug they used
was meth, while two per cent of adults checked off meth as their
primary drug.

"That's a significant increase," says Ms. Mumford. "About four years
ago for youth, the number was about three per cent, and now it's up to
11 per cent. It's all about access, price, and the popularity of raves."

She says some young people use it to combat depression, put a lid on
hunger and keep weight off. But she emphasizes that most are poly-drug
users, who use several illegal drugs together.

A study on youth trends known as the McCreary Survey indicated about
70 per cent of street-entrenched youth used drugs, with many choosing
meth, Ms. Mumford says. But in the high schools, only five to 11 per
cent reported using methamphetamines.

"So what you often see when youth come into addiction services is
multiple barriers, like mental health issues, homelessness, abuse, but
that doesn't mean to say that middle class kids aren't using drugs;
they are and they do as well," she says.

The real challenge for health officials is that there's "no particular
evidence-based treatment available" that targets methamphetamine
addiction, she adds.

Sometimes it's also hard to tell if a psychotic episode is stemming
from a mental health issue or is drug-induced.

"We're also hearing that some the typical behaviour includes volatile
or confrontational behaviour, which makes it difficult to put (meth
addicts) in a treatment group with other types of users," she says.

Fraser Health is also looking at the challenge of developing more
long-term strategies to tackle the problem, such as residential or
out-patient services, she adds.

"That's where the most work is needed and where we'll be concentrating
most of our efforts."