Pubdate: Tue, 27 Dec 2005
Source: Daily Home, The (Talladega,  AL)
Copyright: 2005 Consolidated Publishing
Contact:  http://www.dailyhome.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1632
Note:  also listed as contact
Author: Kellie Long
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

LIKE NO OTHER DRUG

Crystal methamphetamine is dangerous to make and deadly to use, area 
law enforcement officials say.

Even so, meth is still able to work its deadly magic and hold people 
of all ages and backgrounds in its icy grip, squeezing the life out 
of its victims.

"It's easy to make and easy to get," said St. Clair County Sheriff's 
Investigator Cary Ward. "That's one of the reasons it has reached 
epidemic proportions in every county, not just Talladega and St. Clair."

The Do It Now Foundation, a national non-profit drug awareness group, 
reported in an October 2005 publication that emergency room 
admissions related to methamphetamine use soared between 1991 and 
2003 to 42,538.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in 2004, 6.2 
percent of high school seniors reported "lifetime use" of methamphetamine.

"Meth crosses all age groups," Ward said. "We are seeing meth use and 
manufacturing in ages ranging from teen to adult."

Ward said the Sheriff's Department has reached the point where 
deputies and investigators are dealing with meth-related cases every day.

"We are making a lot of arrests related to meth abuse," he said. "We 
deal with someone on meth every day. We're finding guns, 
paraphernalia and other related items all the time. It seems like 
every dealer out there is carrying a handgun."

Gary Garner, Cheaha Mental Health Center substance abuse program 
coordinator, said he also sees methamphetamine use across all age 
groups, but he said the majority of patients he sees are white. He 
added that most are in the 25- to 30-year-old range and have been 
using for at least a year.

"There is such a mix of people using the stuff now that it's hard to 
be able to nail it on the head," he said. "We get all ages, starting 
at 18, but the majority is still white, with about the same number of 
females as males.

"Methamphetamine is pushed for all kinds of reasons," he said. "They 
think they can get better work, more work, better sex. ... We hear 
all kinds of reasons why they started using meth."

Ward agrees. He said meth users believe they are better people and 
can function better by using the drug.

"Most of those who use meth had somebody else introduce them to it," 
he said. "They are looking for a way to get more energy, lose weight, etc."

Garner said recovering addicts he comes in contact with say they 
started using meth because they wanted to lose weight, have 
heightened senses and the tremendous energy boost that comes with it.

"Some take it to increase the proficiency of their job and they can 
work longer. They stay awake for days on end. What they don't know, 
or realize, is that the drug is literally draining their bodies of 
life supporting vitamins and minerals."

Garner said nearly 90 percent of all patients in Cheaha Mental 
Health's Caradale Lodge substance abuse program are court-ordered for 
treatment, and he believes the recidivism rate is high.

"We don't usually get to see them a second time because they are 
usually sent somewhere else if they are caught again," Garner said. 
"With meth being relatively new, we don't have anything to draw from 
statistically."

Garner said the first task of the 28-day recovery program is to 
stabilize the meth user when they come to the health center.

"We have to get them physically stable first," he said. "We have to 
de-toxify them under a doctor's supervision and then medically stabilize them."

Garner said most meth users entering the program are suffering from 
malnutrition and sleep deprivation as well as dehydration and other 
medical conditions.

"Meth users don't experience the physical detox, such as withdrawal, 
that users of other drugs do. It just drains the body until it runs it down."

Garner said the recovery program focuses on an educational process 
that teaches addicts what meth addiction is and how it affects their 
lives. However, he said, the treatment program doesn't work as well 
for young people as it does older meth users.

"The treatment is not easy and the young do not respond to treatments 
we've used before," he said.

"We use the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous 
to help give them support. If they get that far, they've done well.

"Unfortunately, when many of them leave the program they return to 
the same stressors that may have triggered their abuse to begin with. 
Stressors such as grief issues or family issues might cause them to reuse."

Ward said law enforcement officers still have to deal with other 
drugs on the street, such as Oxycontin and hydrocodone, but he said 
crystal methamphetamine is much worse than anything he's faced before.

"Meth touches all social classes. Young people driving nice cars are 
dealing meth right out of their cars," he said. "Users will pay 
anywhere from $50 to $250 for a single hit even though they know meth 
is dangerous and made of poisons. It's a very deadly issue and it 
touches everybody."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman