200 DISCUSS LIFE AFTER METH ADDICTION

More than 200 Clark County residents from all walks of life crowded
into a conference hall at the Red Lion Hotel at the Quay on Tuesday
night to learn about life after methamphetamine addiction.

An electronic poll taken during the second annual community meth
recovery forum revealed that more than half of those attending were
recovering meth addicts or friends or relatives of addicts. About 70
percent said they came to the forum because they were concerned about
someone who was involved in meth use or about the drug's impact on the
community. Three-quarters had some personal connection to meth addiction.

Significantly, when asked what obstacles they had encountered in
seeking help with addiction for themselves or others, 39 percent
clicked "all of the above" -- no insurance, no space available in
treatment centers, and no appropriate treatment in the community.

Keynote speaker Sheryl A. Smith, a drug intervention specialist at
Hudson's Bay HIgh School for eight years and a recovering addict
herself, urged the community to show compassion for meth abusers
rather than vilify them.

Treatment specialists should search for the circumstances in each
addict's life that led to addiction and look for ways to change those
circumstances, Smith said. "It's not about stopping the drug. Recovery
is not about abstinence. When there is not a consistent structure in
place, then there is relapse. But relapse does not have to be part of
recovery."

Many meth addicts have an underlying mental illness, she said. Many
have no supportive family members or friends. Some become addicted to
meth out of boredom or loneliness. Because meth impairs their ability
to think, and because they associate mainly with other meth addicts,
they need outside help before they can start down the path to recovery.

Several speakers stressed that treatment for meth addiction takes
time. "Meth addicts gain a better chance to recover if they stay in
treatment for four months, so be patient," said Vonnie Phillips, a
therapist at Columbia River Mental Health.

Kimberly Whitten, a recovering meth addict and a graduate of Clark
County Drug Court, said she is a living example of what is possible.
Four years ago, she was a new mother and a meth user who got arrested
for possession and ended up in jail. Now she works as a mentor to
other moms who are addicted to drugs. She pays taxes and votes.

"Community support, family support really is essential," Whitten said.
Society must address all the barriers that prevent addicts from
leading productive lives, she said.

Mark Mann, chief criminal deputy for the Chelan County Sheriff's
Office and a veteran of drug enforcement in Pierce County, the state's
meth epicenter, challenged each member of the audience to get involved
- - including law officers, who he noted were conspicuous by their
absence at the forum.

"We have the addict and then we have the public drug problem," Mann
said. The public drug problem, he said, belongs not only to police
officers and therapists but to teachers and taxi drivers, nurses and
bartenders.

"We're always using hope as a third-party thing," he said. "For a
hopeless addict, you represent hope."