HOW TO SPOT A METH USER

Getting help: Crystal meth and crime: FHA crystal meth task force:
Amphetamines - the basics:

Symptoms and signs your family member, co-worker or friend could being
using crystal meth:

* Losing a significant amount of weight, especially in a short period of time

* Talking fast, unusual stamina, staying awake for days

* Severe mood slumps - users are withdrawn, unhappy and anxious

* Paranoid behaviour, hearing voices, perceiving non-existent threats from
others

* Regularly staying at parties and raves all night

* Narcotics Anonymous (Greater Vancouver) 604-873-1018

*Launching Pad Recovery Society 604-536-3022

* Mental Health Crisis Line 604-951-8855

* The Front Room 604-589-7777

* Surrey Community Services 604-584-5811

* Early Psychosis Intervention Program 604-538-4278

Crystal meth is associated with a host of criminal activities, including
theft, assault and the illegal production of the drug.

Some community members believe there has been an increase in petty crime
associated with crystal meth in the Lower Mainland.

A recently released study on auto crime in Surrey found that at least 70
per cent of Surrey auto thieves are chronic methamphetamine users. Police
believe many offenders are replacing cocaine and heroin with meth.

Scott Rintoul works with the RCMP drug awareness section, and has studied
the drug scene in the Lower Mainland for six years.

"We know now methamphetamine is everywhere," said Rintoul, adding it has
gone from being a social drug (used at raves and clubs) to one affecting
the homeless, students and blue collar workers.

Termed the "working man's cocaine," meth is popular with shift workers
because it gives them energy and stamina.

Meanwhile, meth labs are a spin-off problem. Dozens of operations are
busted every year in B.C. Most are in the Lower Mainland, said Rintoul.
Labs can be built and abandoned quickly, and can be assembled in homes,
hotel rooms, garages and even the back seats of cars. A homemade lab can
produce large quantities of the drug in just a few hours.

Because the chemicals used to produce meth are so volatile (including
ammonia, battery acid and paint thinner), crude labs present an increased
risk of fires and explosions.

"Labs put all those close to that residence at risk," said Rintoul. "And it
puts those who live in the residence at risk - especially children."

The FHA has formed a task force concerning crystal meth. The goal is to get
the message out about how to identify meth users and how to help them.

The group will study intervention and treatment programs in other health
authorities and learn from their initiatives.

There are no programs specific to crystal meth in the FHA, although there
are addiction recovery services that help with meth and other addictions.

The task force will have its first meeting mid-March - there is no set end
date. Once it has more information the task force will release its findings
and make recommendations to the FHA.

Amphetamines were first synthesized in the late 1800s. By the 1930s, they
were used in medications such as nasal sprays and diet pills. They were
also used to treat narcolepsy, a sleeping disorder in which sufferers fall
asleep without warning.

Amphetamines are psychostimulants (commonly known as speed) that affect the
central nervous system. They include laevoamphetamine (Benzedrine),
dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine), and methamphetamine (Methedrine).

Amphetamines were widely used during WWII, when they were given to both
Allied and Axis troops to keep them awake and improve their combat
performance. The drug was especially popular among pilots, keeping them
awake during long flights.

There have been several surges in the illegal use of methamphetamine, or
crystal meth. The most recent increase began in the southwestern U.S. in
the 1990s and has been steadily moving north.