Pubdate: Thu, 02 Jun 2005 Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN) Copyright: 2005 The StarPhoenix Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoon/starphoenix/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400 Author: Randy Burton Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) METH ADDICTION STRATEGY INADEQUATE If there is anyone left out there who doubts the destructive power of crystal methamphetamine, they need only look at the case of the late Andrew Moore. According to his brother's account before a coroner's inquest last week, Moore grew up in a conventional, caring family and went on to hold down a responsible job until he got mixed up with meth. >From there it was all downhill, a journey that cost him his job, his girlfriend, his relations with his family and, finally, his life. Moore, 35, died in the back of a confectionery with a loaded .357 Magnum in his hands, shot by police officer Tim Bayly, who thought his own life was about to end. It was the same fate very nearly suffered by 21-year old Jesse Loewy just three months later, a young man who was likewise caught up in meth-induced paranoia. Like Moore, he found himself in an armed confrontation with police. And like Moore, he, too, was shot, but miraculously, he survived the encounter. The point is that such behaviour is not isolated. When police make a meth bust, they almost always find weapons of some kind. Users are paranoid, to the point where they believe there are people hiding behind bushes waiting to get them. Where others see empty streets, the meth user sees people out to get them. This is a drug like no other and anyone touched by it is convinced of that. After hearing the tragic story of Moore last week, the inquest jury recommended the province establish a long-term drug treatment centre and enact legislation allowing for compulsory drug treatment for those who become addicted to meth. Shipping adults off to addiction treatment against their will may well be an infringement on civil liberties, but it does indicate how Moore's case affected the coroner's jury. It also highlights Saskatchewan's lack of a long-term treatment facility. Between 1988 and '96, the province had such a youth drug treatment facility near Yorkton called Whitespruce. The first of its kind in Canada, Whitespruce was hailed as a new approach to drug treatment at the time. Although it had a good reputation, the facility was initially very expensive to run and was eventually closed as part of the provincial government's austerity drive. That looked like a mistake then, and it looks worse today. It's surprising, then, to see Premier Lorne Calvert continue to defend that decision, even with the benefit of hindsight. When it was closed, the main reason cited by the government was to save $1 million a year by moving the treatment to Saskatoon's Calder Centre. However, Calvert now says the main reason for the centre's closure was because it just didn't work. In spite of good work performed by good people, Whitespruce just wasn't effective, Calvert told the legislature last week. This is not the way Ben Weber remembers it. As the former mayor of Yorkton who once sat on the board of Whitespruce, Weber suggests the treatment centre was ahead of its time. In an interview this week, Weber said that while operation costs at Whitespruce were initially too high, there was no doubt the treatments worked. "It was a wonderful concept and it was very, very successful. As a board member, I did not agree with the notion of closing. It was certainly proven to be very successful in all aspects. Anyone would have defended its success rate inasmuch as you can measure it. It was not always easy with a lot of these kids. They came from broken homes and dysfunctional families and communities. There was just so many issues and problems. And that's what you need. You need a time out from society and you need a fairly protracted period of time in a facility like that where you can begin to rebuild your life." This sounds a lot like what the experts are now saying about crystal meth. If there's one thing that separates it from other drugs, it's the length of time it takes to get over it, which can be a year or longer. However, there is a real shortage of long-term beds in Saskatchewan to deal with it. According to the premier's count, there are 248 alcohol and drug treatment beds in Saskatchewan, but only nine long-term residential beds. The question is how to close the gap. Whatever the ultimate truth about Whitespruce, the fact remains that eight years later, the provincial government has yet to find a suitable replacement for it. Calvert himself concedes that more has to be done, but the rate of progress remains glacial. While government backbencher Graham Addley continues to study the issue, community-based groups are moving ahead on their own. In Saskatoon, Families Against Meth has established an education program and put speakers in schools around the province. It has also set up a training program for parents telling them how to look for signs of crystal meth addiction and what to do about it when it happens. Saskatchewan Party MLA Ted Merriman has been active in this and is trying to help a private centre called Teen Challenge in Allan expand the number of beds it has. Events are overtaking the government on this issue. Rather than controlling the agenda and leading change, it finds itself reacting to events both large and small. And if the case of Andrew Moore proves anything, it is that further delay on developing answers to the meth problem could have lethal consequences. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin