CRYSTAL METH USE RUNNING RAMPANT

At the age of 18, Jerry decided he wanted to try every drug at least once.
He started with alcohol, pot and cocaine. Then he found crystal meth.

"I remember thinking it was the best thing ever...I could talk and talk and
talk-it was so cheap and a big bang for your buck."

Within a year, Jerry (not his real name) was using every day, spending much
of his free time at a "gack house" (meth users' equivalent of a crack
cocaine house).

He became a driver for dealers in return for free drugs and eventually
turned to crime to support his habit.

Today he's a tall, stocky man, smartly dressed in black jeans and T-shirt,
with short dark hair and a contagious laugh. But just four years ago he was
pale and gaunt, having dropped 30 pounds in just a few weeks. Then there
was the paranoia.

He became convinced people wanted to kill him. He thought mini-cameras had
been set up in his car and at his home. Once, he filled a can with gasoline
and was ready to fight back by burning his enemies and their homes. He
needed help, and he knew it.

"The day I asked mom to bring me to the doctor I told her Regis and Kathie
Lee (from the TV show) had been making fun of me for an hour," said Jerry.
"I was just gone-crazy."

Jerry is one of the lucky ones; he broke free. But thousands of other,
mostly young users, remain in the vicious dance of highs, lows and crashes
that can end in permanent brain damage.

Known on the street as crystal meth, crank, glass or zip, methamphetamine
is a powerful drug that releases high levels of chemicals into areas of the
brain that regulate feelings of pleasure. It increases wakefulness and
physical activity, and decreases appetite.

Meth comes in many forms and can be snorted, swallowed, injected or smoked.
And it's cheap. A "point" (0.1 grams) of the drug costs under $20 and the
high lasts for hours. Users can maintain a habit for as little as $5 a day.
That's a steal compared to a $250-a-day coke habit.

Because the effects of meth last up to three days, during which users often
don't sleep or eat, it's particularly attractive to street youth who need
to remain watchful at all hours, guarding their belongings. Use among gay
men has also spiked in recent years, with the drug's reputation for
stripping away inhibitions and producing prolonged erections.

In just two years, crystal meth has overtaken cocaine as the third most
popular drug (after alcohol and marijuana) in the Vancouver Coastal Health
Authority (VCHA).

"It's the drug of the day," says Jennifer Vornbrock, manager of youth,
women, and population health for the VCHA. "There's a real prevalence in
the Downtown South where the street kids gravitate." Granville Mall and
Davie Street are particular hot spots.

But it's hard to calculate actual usage because much of the information
gathered is anecdotal, says Vornbrock. Still, the rise in use and the
addictive repercussions-sometimes permanent psychosis-led Vornbrock and 30
others to form the Methamphetamine Response Committee (MARC) in 2002. Made
up of doctors, nurses, police officers, mental health workers and parents
among others, MARC meets regularly to strategize ways to control the rise
in crystal meth use and provide adequate treatment.

As MARC chair, Vornbrock says the group's effectiveness is about to be
proven, with "an announcement coming soon" on funding for education and
prevention programs aimed at youth.

A 2002 survey of close to 2,000 students in the Lower Mainland found 19 per
cent had tried crystal meth. The same study found the average age for first
use of the drug was just over 14. Most could obtain it in under 24 hours.

Methamphetamine is exceptionally toxic. High doses can elevate body
temperature to dangerous, even lethal levels, and can cause convulsions.

When "tweakers"-long-term users-try to kick the drug, they often experience
depression, confusion, fatigue and aggression. And that makes getting off
crystal meth extremely difficult. Treatment includes counselling and the
use of anti-psychotic medications. For many, recovery is a long road.

There is a unique danger in using crystal meth because it leads to
psychosis in some users.

"They're really a very difficult group to treat," says Miriam Cohen, a
registered nurse and coordinator of the Early Psychosis Intervention
Program for Vancouver and Richmond. "(With other psychosis) we usually see
a slow, gradual ascent. With meth, it gets acute quite quickly."

Dr. Ian Martin, 33, is quickly becoming the city's "expert" on meth. He did
his residency at St. Paul's Hospital, worked at Three Bridges Clinic and at
Dusk to Dawn, a youth drop-in centre connected to St. Paul's.

"Over the last few years meth use just kept coming up," says Martin. "Meth
is one of the most addictive drugs out there and it carries with it some
very dangerous side-effects-a small percentage of users won't ever get better."

And that's even if they do stop using the drug.

As part of MARC, Martin sees positive steps being taken towards controlling
the rampant use of meth, pointing to three beds in St. Paul's dedicated to
those caught in meth psychosis.

"We really hope to develop a centre or an area where youth affected can be
managed without detox or emergency care-neither are ideal.

"I don't foresee it (meth use) going away but I don't feel defeated. If I
felt defeated I would have given up a long time ago."