Pubdate: Sun, 27 Nov 2005
Source: Meadow Lake Progress (CN SN)
Copyright: 2005 Meadow Lake Progress
Contact:  http://www.meadowlakeprogress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2156
Author: Kathy Gallant, Progress Staff
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

SHE CHOSE LIFE INSTEAD OF METH

Kelly Merriman and her family have been through hell, literally. The
34-year-old daughter of Saskatoon MLA Ted Merriman was addicted to
various drugs for over 12 years, and it took crashing and burning to
finally get her out of the vicious cycle her crystal meth addiction
had thrown her into.

On November 21st, they visited Meadow Lake as a part of a
province-wide conquest to reach as many people as they can about this
topic.

The first part of the presentation involved an educational slideshow,
and then Ted provided a parent's perspective on dealing with a child
at any age using crystal meth. During the third portion, Kelly talked
about her experience where she came in and out of her severe addiction
to the drug.

An important statement was made at the beginning of this presentation:
"All addictions are a disease."

The display talked about the products which are used to make the
highly addictive drug and how it was not only toxic to the user, but
to the environment as well. Merriman said the fumes from this drug can
seep into porous surfaces, like walls and carpets, and can make a
person severely sick.

Meth addiction occurs in cycles. The first is called binging when the
person keeps taking the drug to maintain a high, which can cause a
person to be awake for several days. Then there is the crashing stage
when a person on the drug starts to come down from being high, and it
causes them to want to sleep and they have a severe decrease in their
appetite and can even end up passing out. As well, the meth can start
to have an affect on the external appearance of a person. Merriman
said that some start to get severe rashes and other physical ailments.

"The meth can actually start to burn through people's skin and cause
it to itch," he said. "Some people's teeth turn yellow and decay, and
the skin can take on a grayish tone."

Ted Merriman also showed slides of people affected by crystal meth,
including users who had looked like they'd aged 20 years.

He said like any other parent with an addicted child, he had to deal
with shock and utter disappointment, and had even barred his daughter
from visiting his household at one point.

"I didn't want to do that, believe me," said Merriman. But she had
turned into a liar and a thief, and it was just too much to deal with.
"Like a typical business man I wanted to react and say 'if this wasn't
working for me, I have to get rid of it,' but I eventually said 'this
is my daughter, I can't be an enabler, but I can't stand back either.'
This came only after Kelly realized that she had to help herself."

No sooner had she plunged herself so far into debt that she was
scraping to live on no food and just drugs, did Kelly realize that
something had to change, because she was losing the trust of her family.

"The breaking point for me was the fact that my brother said that I
wasn't allowed to see my niece and nephew anymore because I was high
all the time," said Kelly.

Her drug use began because of a strong desire to belong.

"I wanted to be accepted, I wanted people to like me, so I followed
the crowd and started smoking and drinking at a very young age...
Twelve years later, I was crawling to my parents asking for help.
There were a couple of times that I was doing good but fell back into
the habit. But after my brother gave me that ultimatum, I've been
trying hard. Though I took advantage of them during the times I was
high, my family means the world to me."

After coming clean, Kelly has learned the rudimentary skills that
eluded her while she was high.

"I can grocery shop now," she said. "I play the guitar, and I've even
joined a gym. There still are some lows, but it gets better. I really
believe I'm meant to make people aware of the dangers of meth, and if
I can help some people I will. I chose life. Meth is death." 
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