Pubdate: Wed, 20 Apr 2005
Source: Surrey Leader (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 Surrey Leader
Contact:  http://www.surreyleader.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1236
Author: Jennifer Lang
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

DEATH FROM METH: A NEAR MISS FOR MOM AND TEEN

Chelsea Norris was only 13 when she tried crystal meth for the first time.

She'd been told it would help her lose weight. Boost her confidence. She'd 
be skinny and popular.

Little did she know her crash diet would turn into a four-year addiction.

Just about to turn 19, Norris is a recovering addict who counts herself 
among the lucky ones able to beat the drug - thanks to treatment, and 
support from her mom.

Drug addiction has touched some of the wealthiest families in the local 
community, more than 100 parents at Earl Marriott Secondary were told at a 
drug forum presented by Surrey RCMP's Youth Section and the Surrey School 
District. It was one of three forums held this week for students and the 
public.

Most addicts aren't as fortunate as Norris, whose story was featured in 
Dying For Jib, an anti-drug video for students made by Peace Arch Community 
Services screened at the forum.

Many end up on the streets, in jail, or dead.

"I'm just glad I got out of it," Norris said.

She described how she'd been a shy teen who loved horses, and had a close 
relationship with her single parent mom, when she started hanging out with 
a new group of friends who convinced her to try crystal meth.

"Crystal meth is really cheap. Quite affordable for a 14-year-old, and it 
lasts much longer than anything else I had tried."

Her slip into addiction began gradually. She started lying to her mom. The 
once cheerful A-student was always angry.

"I just lost a sense of who I was in the beginning of all this. I was no 
longer the happy, outgoing kid."

In her place was a selfish, violent girl who lashed out at her mom, the one 
person who meant the most to her.

"My gut told me she was using some serious drugs," Jane Norris said.

Jane watched helplessly as her daughter lost so much weight she became 
skeletal, then dropped out of school, left home, and moved in with her 
dealer - who supplied students as young as Grade 8.

"I was so naive," Jane Norris said. "I thought we were a relatively normal 
middle-class family; it can't be happening in my house. "If you think it 
can't happen to your child, you need a wake-up call."

The turning point came when Chelsea realized she wanted to quit. She was 
alone, broke and hungry. And she was homesick. "I just missed my mommy."

Her mom was distraught to learn the nearest treatment facility, Peak House 
in East Vancouver, had a three-month waiting list. "She didn't have three 
months. In three months she would have been dead."

Jane Norris spent a week searching for an alternative.

"I literally called every treatment centre in the province to get her a bed."

She found a voluntary, 28-day program in Prince George.

It took three weeks for the drugs to leave Chelsea's system, and a long, 
lonely year to find new, clean friends. She and her mom now live on a farm 
in Langley, where Chelsea can ride her horse. She looks forward to what 
each new day will bring.

Jane Norris was one of several parents at the forum who complained about a 
lack of treatment programs for local teens. One of her daughter's friends 
is still waiting for a treatment centre bed. The other got treatment after 
being sent to jail.

She urged people to lobby government.

"Everybody has to fight for this because the next kid in the street might 
be your kid."

Surrey RCMP say crystal meth, or methamphetamine, is an addictive, easily 
accessible street drug that's growing in popularity. It costs just $10 for 
a bag.

"Everybody thinks it's a Downtown Eastside problem," Pat Johnson, a member 
of the parent support group From Grief To Action, told the crowd.

"It's in every neighbourhood and every community these days."

Johnson, who described the fierce struggle her 23-year-old son has waged 
with his addiction, recalled how difficult it was to notice signs her son 
was using drugs.

He started taking long showers, but she didn't suspect a thing.

"He was going in, turning the shower on full tilt, and smoking crystal 
meth. You can't smell it."

Her son eventually lost his job, began committing petty crimes, entered the 
court system, and eventually served jail time. He decided to go clean while 
serving a conditional sentence.

Once he was released, there was little in the way of support services 
available to her son, or the family, Johnson discovered.

That lack of support made his year in recovery more difficult.

"Only last week, he relapsed. It's been hard to come here tonight," she 
added, her voice breaking.

She recommended two support groups - Parents Forever and Parents Together - 
to local families trying to cope with a child with a drug problem.

She advised parents educate themselves and their children about drugs and 
to lobby for residential treatment programs to support youth once they 
leave treatment and return home.

The hard-hitting forum, meant as a proactive way to educate parents and 
students about substance abuse, was one of three held this week. More are 
planned as RCMP and the school district work on a combined Safe Schools 
strategy.

Surrey RCMP also plan to expand the number of school liaison officers from 
nine to 14.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom