Pubdate: Wed, 20 Apr 2005
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 The Province
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Matthew Ramsey
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

'WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO TREAT THESE PEOPLE,' SAYS AUTHOR OF NEW STUDY

A Vancouver researcher hopes her three-year study will help to determine a 
better way of treating crystal-meth addicts.

Assistant psychiatry professor Dr. Tania Lecomte says her look at 300 
addicts will track those who have undergone one or more psychotic episodes.

Lecomte says the symptoms that addicts experience include extreme paranoia, 
visual and auditory hallucinations and severe cognitive impairment.

She says addicts are often stuck between mental-health facilities and detox 
centres and neither system has a proven treatment method.

"We don't have solutions. We don't know how to treat these people," she 
says. "There's no integrated treatment people get unless they find it for 
themselves. The problem is too new. People either don't know how to face 
it, or it hasn't triggered the [alarm] bell."

A February 2004 survey of 40 street youth who used methamphetamines found 
that 84 per cent suffered from psychosis and that their symptoms increased 
as they used the drug.

In Japan, a country with a long history of meth addiction, studies have 
shown that 36 to 64 per cent of users experience psychosis and psychotic 
symptoms.

Other studies have suggested that long-term use can damage the brain's 
ability to produce the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin -- 
essentially robbing the user of the ability to feel pleasure.

Lecomte's study has $138,000 in startup funding. She's hoping for another 
$138,000 for Year 2 and $97,000 for Year 3. She's also hoping that the 
provincial government will step in with financial assistance.

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FOUR KEY OBJECTIVES

Key objectives of the provincial government's strategy to counter meth 
addiction: prevent people from starting to use meth; reduce current use; 
reduce harm and overdose deaths; reduce supply. Copies are available on 
line at www.healthservices.gov.bc.ca/mhd/pdf/meth_final.pdf
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman